First Moroccan Days of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology,
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco; April 8-10 2007
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 Message from the Chair

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have a growing impact on modern materials and on electronics and photonics technology as well as on biotechnology. The world wide flurry of research witnessed in this domain and the resulting exciting new developments and approaches have started to fill important niches in polymers and composites applications, telecommunications, data storage, displays, etc., gaining increasingly industrial acceptance for new materials and devices. The 1st Moroccan Days of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (MDNN-1) was a powerhouse of new and viable ideas, and was aimed at presenting the latest results from a very dynamic scientific community.

It is was my pleasure to welcome all the participants to MDNN-1; a conference which represented a part of the effort of the Moroccan Association of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (AMANAT) as well as Moroccan professors and scientists and students as well as industrials to share their experiences in this field with the international community. MDNN-1, which is the first of a series of conferences, targeted the area of nanophotonics and nanobiotechnology and nanomaterials, including molecular materials and polymers and dendrimers as well as semi- and super-conducting and magnetic materials, and nanofabrication, and theoretical studies on nanomaterials. Leading scientists from the Maghreb, Morocco-Tunisia-Algeria, as well as eminent guests from Japan, USA, Canada, and France gave lectures on the state of the art of the subject areas, and industrials as well as start up companies working in the field of nanotechnology shared with the participants their latest products, including, novel materials and techniques and devices. The conference focused on the identification of new research topics which lead to continuous bases for strong cooperative links in science and engineering research activities and education for young scientists and students, and ample time was given for "freewheeling" discussions between academe and industry. The conference also enhanced the scientific and technical and industrial cooperation between Morocco and its partner countries.

This special issue of the Moroccan Journal of Condensed Matter aims at publishing the excellent papers that have been presented at MDNN-1 for a broader sharing of the conference scientific findings.

 

Zouheir Sekkat
Conference Chair