Chairman:
ESPINOSA, Horacio
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL - USA
t-milic@northwestern.edu

Co-Chairman:
BALLARINI, Roberto
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio - USA

BANKS - SILLS, Leslie
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv - Israel

GERBERICH, William
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis - USA

WOLF, Dieter
Argone National Laboratory
Argone, IL - USA

Abstract
The purpose of this symposium is to foster the interaction and networking of those working throughout universities, industries, and government laboratories in the general area of micro and nano systems, and to provide an opportunity for the exchange of ideas in an interdisciplinary forum.

The field of nano science and technology is a broad and interdisciplinary area. Worldwide research and development activities have been growing rapidly in the past few years, while an understanding of the range and nature of functionalities that can be accessed through nanostructuring is just beginning to unfold.

The understanding and prevention of fracture and fatigue in micro and nano engineering applications depends upon the integration of knowledge in materials science, physics, chemistry and mechanics. Our progress may fundamentally change the way in which materials and devices will be produced in the future, and revolutionize segments of the materials manufacturing industry.

This symposium will focus on fracture and fatigue at the nanoscale within the larger scope of assessing research needs in a variety of applications of interest.

Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
Fatigue and Fracture in MEMS/NEMS.
Novel test techniques from nanometer to micrometer length scales.
Deformation and fracture of biomolecules
Mechanisms of surface and thin film coarsening; self-organized pattern formation in thin films, driven atomic motion.
Adhesion, fracture and plasticity of thin films and coatings.
Modeling mechanical behavior of nanostructured materials; defect structure and interface structure of nanocomposites.
In-situ AFM/SEM/HRTEM experiments performed on thin films and nano tubes.
Collective dynamics of defects and interplay between phase composition, phase transformations, and plasticity.
Simulation methods for length scale linking; coupling quantum to atomistic and atomistic to continuum simulations.