The International Sol-Gel Society …is born.

Since the inception of the highly successful Sol-Gel Workshop series in Padova during 1981, sol-gel science and technology has evolved from its origins within traditional materials science (mainly glass and ceramics) to become an extraordinarily multidisciplinary area of research, spanning chemistry, physics, biology, materials science and nanotechnology.The 12th International workshop emphasized and enhanced this multidisciplinary character, with an exciting and diverse technical program. The rich oral and poster programs, which featured over 70 talks and 250 posters by delegates from 39 countries, highlighted the basic research, technical/commercial developments and outstanding issues that make sol-gel science and technology such an exciting and rewarding field.

An important feature of the workshop was the inaugural meeting of the new International Sol-Gel Society. Its mission is threefold: To coordinate the promotion of sol-gel science and technology in the scientific and industrial community.

To foster communication between researchers from different fields and geographical regions through the organization of conferences and the publication and circulation of technical papers, and to encourage education, training and research in the field of sol-gel science and technology