This Solid-State Chemistry and Materials Science Symposium at the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society will bring together scientists from the fields of inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, condensed matter physics, materials science, and engineering in order to examine topics which have been identified as important areas to the greater materials chemistry community. Topics will include: 1) advances in designed synthetic strategies to prepare nanoparticulate materials, 2) prediction and exploration of magnetic phenomenon such as those found in dilute magnetic semiconductors and magnetoresistive materials, 3) the use of microwaves to prepare a wide range of materials from intermetallics to ceramics, and 4) structure-property relationships of materials, as well as others. Sessions will be comprised of invited speakers and contributed talks. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are highly encouraged to submit abstracts. Half of the confirmed speakers are women, and 40% are assistant professors. %%% Interest in solid-state chemistry and materials science has undergone explosive growth in recent years due to the broadly based recognition of the technological importance and scientific challenges involved in the discovery and study of new materials, and due to the influx of scientists from other disciplines who see the opportunities for performing exciting research in this area. The 2006 Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science Symposium is sponsored by the American Chemical Society Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM 2006) to be held June 4-7, 2006 in Hershey, PA. The goal of the conference is to facilitate collaborations and information exchange across a broad spectrum of researchers with interests in solid-state chemistry areas that include new concepts for design and synthesis of novel functional materials, fundamental studies in structure-property relationships, and related areas of materials nanoscience and engineering research and education. The NSF funds will be used primarily to support the participation of students, post-doctoral scholars, and early career faculty, as well as senior U.S. session chairs and invited speakers. ***
