Workshop on Nano and Micromechanics of Solids for Emerging Science and Technology, October 7-8, 1999, Palo Alto, California

科学和技术的最新发展使制造和控制纳米级材料系统的能力得到了提高。这些发展反过来又把纳米尺度上的材料行为问题带入了工程领域。力学领域在将新思想转化为实际成果以及使技术能够满足一系列社会需求方面发挥着重要作用。这一新兴领域的力学研究的分支可称为“纳米和微观材料力学”。现在是时候让力学界将其思想集中在潜在的挑战上，并建立一个有效，可靠的国家计划和纳米和微观材料力学基础设施。

Recent developments in science and technology have advanced capabilities to both fabricate and control material systems on the scale of nanometers. These developments, in turn, have brought problems of materials behavior on nanometer scale into the domain of engineering. The field of mechanics has an important role to play in bringing new ideas to practical fruition and in enabling the technologies to meet a range of societal needs. The branch of mechanics research in this emerging field can be termed "nano- and micro-mechanics of materials". It is timely for the mechanics community to focus its thinking on the underlying challenges and to establish an effective, reliable national program and infrastructure on nano- and micro-mechanics of materials.