...have played a pivotal role in the development of humanity. The Stone, Brass, and Iron Ages represent important landmarks in our past. More recently, the industrial revolution was fueled by an emerging ability to mass-produce steel; silicon has been the material enabling the age of information technology.

The limits given by the laws of physics allow for materials that are far more exciting than the materials we have today.

...have the potential to drive the next technological revolution.

In the living nature, it is easy to find examples for materials that outperform our current engineering materials in almost any aspect.

• can dynamically adapt to performance requirements and changes in their environment
• are self-healing
• are highly multi-functional
• are produced very energy-efficient, at low temperatures
• are environment-friendly and non-toxic
• combine high stiffness and strength with high toughness

...have all the good properties.

...will be the basis for new multi-functional, high-performance materials.

Carbon materials with sp² hybridization—present in graphene, carbon nanotubes, Fullerenes, and carbon fibers—have amazing properties. They are amongst the stiffest and strongest materials known, and they are electrically conductive. These properties provide the opportunity to design exciting new materials.

Functionalized Graphene has a large potential because it can be produced cheaply and in large quantities. The functional groups provide a tunable interface for optimized interactions with other materials. We can now produce this exciting material in large amounts in our laboratory.

To what extent will we be able to make use of the exciting properties of carbon-based materials? The availability of new, lightweight, high-performance materials would allow for more energy­efficient transportation vehicles on ground, in air, and in space. The application of such materials would significantly reduce fuel consumption.

Can we translate some of the exciting properties from biomaterials to engineering materials? Wouldn't it be great if we had self-healing products? Products that are built from harmless, natural substances, in an energy-efficient way?

The production of new materials with exciting properties is possible. The availability of such materials will help us to tackle some of the most important challenges of our century: the need to reduce energy consumption, and the need to develop methods for a sustainable usage of our resources. Let's do it!

New materials ... will make a difference!