Rio Tinto Alcan, the global leader in the aluminum industry, is based in Montreal with 24,000 dedicated employees worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.riotintoalcan.com.

Dow is a leading science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products, serving customers in more than 170 countries.

More information about Dow is available at their Web site, http://www.dow.com.

Through supporting the
arts and humanities,
Ford Motor Company Fund
hopes to promote a deeper understanding of our communities and ourselves. Ford Motor Company Fund
is committed to creating opportunities that stimulate creativity and innovation.

Find out more about that commitment.

Intel collaborates with educators to increase the effective use of technology in education. The goal is to prepare students for the knowledge-based economy and help realize their full potential.

More information is available at www.intel.com/education

3M is a $16 billion diversified technology company with operations in more than 60 countries. For nearly a century, 3M's culture has fostered creativity, producing more than 50,000 innovative products.

More information about 3M is available at their Web site, http://www.3m.com.

The Ontario Science Centre's mission is to delight, inform and challenge visitors through engaging and thought-provoking experiences in science and technology.

The Centre has drawn more than 36 million visitors from around the world since opening in 1969. Each year, a million people - including 200,000 students - explore and enjoy the Centre's exhibits, demonstrations, programs and Omnimax films.

For more on the Science Centre, including many more science activities you can do online, visit: http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/scizone/.

The Materials Research Society is a non-profit organization that brings together scientists, engineers and researchers from industry, government and academia to share findings in the research and development of new materials of technological importance.

From its founding in 1973, the MRS has grown to almost 16,000 members from the United States and over 50 other countries. The Society focuses on encouraging communication and technical information exchange across the various fields of science affecting materials.

For more on the MRS, visit: http://www.mrs.org.

The NSF is an independent agency of the U.S. Government, established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. Its mission is to promote the progress of science, to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare and to secure the national defense.

The material in this web site is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0000586. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

For more on the NSF, visit: http://www.nsf.gov.