In the Spring of 2002, a group of scientists assembled in Massa Marittima, Tuscany, Italy, for a meeting on the topic of ‘Self-Assembly – the Future’. The participants were all experts in the field and came to Massa Marittima from all over the world, and the organisers were Piero Baglioni (University of Florence, Italy), Julian Eastoe (University of Bristol, UK), Alan Hatton (MIT, Boston, USA), Brian Robinson (University of East Anglia, UK) with the help of Stephen Lee and Ray MacKay (US Army).

It was an interdisciplinary meeting that included participation by Physicists, Chemists, Biologists and Chemical Engineers. Those who attended agreed to write up their papers after the meeting in the form of chapters suitable for a book. Such was the enthusiasm about the scope and quality of the programme that we received chapters from almost all the participants and this book is the result. We believe it will be a useful addition to the literature in this important area of research and that it gives readers a helpful account of the state of the field of self-assembly at the present time.

While in Tuscany, we were able to enjoy the hospitality of the region and we are specially grateful for a reception by the Mayor of Massa Marittima.

I would like to particularly thank the authors for their written contributions, Peter Brown for his invaluable advice and help with editing the manuscripts, and Dr Einar Fredriksson, Anne Marie de Rover and the publication team at IOS Press for preparing an excellent book.

Finally, we would very much like to thank the US Army, the Italian Ministry for Research (MUR) through the Italian Center for Colloid Science and Nanotechnology, and the National Science Foundation of the USA for their generous financial support of the meeting.

Brian Robinson, Book Editor, School of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk NR9 5NF, UK