Five years ago, a first book entitled Microscale and Nanoscale Heat Transfer was
put together, and eventually published in 2007 as number 107 in the Springer TAP
series. The aim was to bring together a group of scientists with a common interest in
heat transfer problems on the micro- and nanoscales. Since then, it has become clear
that these problems constitute a key feature of the nanoscience adventure. Apart
from the fact that energy has become a major theme today, for which solutions
are required across the board, including in the area of nanotechnology, nanoscale
heat transfer is now a major issue for very high level international research groups
who are moving beyond the limits set by their predecessors and whose reports are
now being published in high-profile, wide-readership journals such as Nature and
Science. Knowledge in this area has thus progressed, and its applications are ever
more diverse.