Preview: Small 10/2006

The cover picture illustrates novel zinc oxide nanostructures, which were synthesized by a solid-vapor-phase process by the group of Z. L. Wang at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The interest and importance in preparing such novel structures as building blocks for the preparation of new functional nanomaterials were recently highlighted at the 2005 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston (USA), in particular, during the symposium entitled "Assembly at the Nanoscale -Toward Functional Nanostructured Materials". Issue 11/2006 of Small will include a special section devoted to this symposium and will present a selection of articles that typify the groundbreaking research that was presented there. For more information on the ZnO nanostructures, please read the Communication "SiC-Shell Nanostructures Fabricated by Replicating ZnO Nano-objects: A Technique for Producing Hollow Nanostructures of Desired Shape" by Z. L. Wang and co-workers in Issue 11 of Small.