Preface: Phys. Status Solidi C 6/2011
Authors: Cantarero Andrés , Sailor Michael , Nassiopoulou Androula , Schmuki Patrik , Canham Leigh 
Published: June 2011

AbstractDear reader of these proceedings,Welcome to our collection of papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Porous Semicon‐ductors – Science and Technology (PSST‐2010) and accepted for publication. This conference was held in Valencia, Spain from 14th to 19th March and was the latest in a biennial series running since 1998. This year we accepted a record 223 abstracts with also a record number of countries being represented.Short Course for StudentsThe conference was preceded by introductory re‐view lectures and handouts covering the core topics, and given by the conference chairs:Electrochemical synthesis of porous materialsChemical and biological sensor applicationsMedical, nutritional and consumer care applica‐tionsElectronic and chip‐based sensor applicationsTechnical ProgrammeEight invited speakers gave important review talks: Guiseppe Barillaro, Matthias Böhringer, Claude Levy Clement, Helmut Föll, Jan Van Hoeymissen, Luca de Stefano, Ennio Tasciotti and Nico Voelcker.One particularly poignant lecture was the memo‐rial talk on the career of Ulrich Gösele, who unex‐pectedly passed away on November 8th 2009. As his long term friend and colleague Professor Föll com‐mented “Prof. Dr. Ulrich Gösele has made lasting contributions to science and enriched the pro‐fessional and private lives of many people. He will be missed and remembered as an outstanding scientist and a caring friend”.Our oral presentations were grouped into the fol‐lowing technical sessions. The varied topics empha‐size the interdisciplinary nature of the scientific field covered by porous semiconductor R&D:Nanowires and nanotubesPore initiation control and patterningMetal‐assisted etching and depositionMagnetic nanocompositesMEMS and advanced electronicsLuminescence and energy transferPhotovoltaicsMesoporous materialsMultilayers and photonicsMicrophotonic sensorsChemical and biomolecule sensingBiological interfaces and nanocompositesPorous silicon “in‐vitro and in‐vivo”Drug deliveryThermal and acoustic propertiesAdvanced characterizationMicrofluidics and microfiltrationSemiconductor anodizationStain etchingThe two poster sessions, with more than 100 contributions, were once again very well attended and the focus of lively discussion and debate.Social ProgrammeThe conference venue and time coincided inten‐tionally with the world famous “Las Fallas” – a remarkable week of celebrations and spectacular firework displays throughout the city of Valencia. Our conference dinner and excursion to the Las Fallas finale completed a very successful and enjoyable week.magnified imageIn addition to the above awards, Semitool Inc. once again sponsored grant awards to the following PhD students:Enrique Garralaga Rojas, IFS, GermanyMeifang Lai, University of W. AustraliaLuo Gu, UCSD, USAFengxia Liang, University of Hong KongJudson Ryckman, Vanderbilt University, USAQuenti Van Overmeere, UCL, BelgiumAcknowledgementsFor the seventh time, we are once again heavily indebted to the Valencian team of organizers led by Eugenia Matveeva with great support from Yuri Ma‐koshok and Maria Carmen Roca Saiz (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)