The search for novel materials has always been an area of great scientific and technological interest, not merely from the vantage point of research in basic sciences and engineering, but also for applications in industrial sectors like: electronics, medicine, aeronautics, metallurgy, and mining, among others.

Materials designed for a given purpose should carry out fail-free functions for extended periods of time. Their production should be easy and low cost with subsequent processes as environmentally friendly as possible. Additionally, contemporary life has accustomed us to rapid global communication, to efficient modes of transport, and to a much longer life expectancy than ever before. To a great measure, this is based upon the existence of objects like the microchip, weak and strong metal alloys, improved tools, and other processes that make the aforementioned possible. Is it probable that the benefits supported by these advances become more generalized than they are now? For this, the issues of cost and viability to prepare novel materials become crucial themes.

It is highly unusual for a material to be useful just as it is provided by nature. Generally, minerals need refinement and processing to produce metals. Ceramic materials are produced through complex processing of raw materials and from their interaction with heat. Careful synthesis is necessary for the fabrication of most polymers. The endless possibilities of combining known materials give rise to composite materials.

Materials, such as they are traditionally understood, are macroscopic objects; nevertheless, they are composed of atoms and molecules. Hence, it is a characteristic trait of many materials that their collective behavior is completely different, as is the case of magnetism, from what one would expect given our knowledge of the behavior of the individual components. Most recently, the making of materials at the nano-metric scale has been made possible, attracting notable interest due to their enormous potential in the design of materials, as well as to their interesting magnetic, optical, and catalytic properties and to their fascinating mechanical behavior.

Current doubts in materials research are what stimulate CENM in the quest to understanding materials, not merely at the final consumer level, but also at a more profound scientific level. CENM is also moved by inquiries such as: what enables materials to respond to external forces the way they do? Additionally, is it possible to create materials with pre-assigned properties on the basis of a molecular scale? CENM, through experimental techniques, will explore the answers to these questions and will reach theoretical understanding of the internal mechanisms of materials.