Announcement of Symposium

This article provides a review of the nascent field of manufacturing at the nanoscale, tracing its
roots to the promise of nanotechnology for serving the society through valuable products and
services. A comprehensive representative set of nanoscale technologies in processes, materials,
pharmaceuticals, electronics, instruments etc. that have reached or are currently introduced to mass
production is presented, and the key technological advances that led to their development are
identified. This points to promising new research directions and the requisite infrastructure needs in
nanomanufacturing, oriented towards enabling scalable technology transfer to industry and
emphasizing producibility, predictability and productivity aspects. International efforts in this arena
are overviewed, with further insight into the related recent activities of the National Science
Foundation in the USA.