In this book, the authors discuss some of the main challenges and new opportunities in science and engineering research, which involve combining computational and experimental approaches as a promising strategy for arriving at new insights into composition-structure-property relations, even at the nanoscale. From a practical standpoint, the authors show that significant improvements in the material/biomolecular foresight by design, including a fundamental understanding of their physical and chemical properties, are vital and will undoubtedly help us to reach a new technological level in the future.

Professor Dr. Felipe de Almeida La Porta received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Araraquara, Brazil, in 2014. He was subsequently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Multidisciplinary Center for the Development of Ceramic Materials at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCAR), Brazil, and at the Institute of Advanced Materials, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), in Castellon de la Plana, Spain. Since 2015, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science at the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR). His research interests are in the fields of materials synthesis and the applications of novel advanced materials - based on a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches. He is Co-Editor of the book "Recent Advances in Complex Functional Materials: From Design to Application." Professor Dr. Carlton A. Taft earned his Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of Illinois (USA) in 1969, and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas in 1975, prior to doing postdoctoral work as a senior visitor to the Chemistry Department, University of California (USA) in the 1980s. He was hired by the CBPF in 1976 and worked his way up through the decades from Assistant to Associate and eventually Full Professor. He has published over 200 international papers in indexed scientific journals and 19 book chapters, and has served as Editor for 5 books, Guest Editor for 6 special issues, and Referee for over 50 indexed scientific journals. He works in multidisciplinary areas with a focus on theoretical-computational physical/chemical/biological/engineering applications in the molecular and material sciences.