This symposium, the third held as pant of the MRS Fall Meetings series, touched on a wide range of topics covering static and dynamic properties of small confining systems: probing of confined systems, structure and dynamics of liquids at interfaces, nanorheology, adsorption, diffusion in pores, and reactions. Panticipants from various disciplines shared different points of view on the questions of how ultrasmall geometries can force a system to behave in ways significantly different than its behavior in the bulk, how this difference affects molecular properties, and how it is probed. The contributions in the book reflect the broad range of topics discussed at the meeting, all related to dynamics in small confining systems. We hope that the interdisciplinaty nature of the book and the meeting will help to bridge the gap among the different approaches and methods presented. The papers appear in the book in the order of their presentation during the symposium, which was organized in sessions entitled: Probing Confined Systems; Structure and Dynamics of Thin Films; Nanorheology; Diffusion in Porous Systems; Adsorption and Phase Transitions; and Reaction Dynamics. (MM).

Interfacial science has rapidly expanded beyond the original realm of chemistry to include physics, mechanical and chemical engineering, biology, materials science, and other specialized sub-fields. All of these scientific disciplines come together in this book to share viewpoints and bridge gaps among the different approaches and methods presented. Discussions focus on how ultrasmall geometries can force a system to behave in ways significantly different than it behaves in bulk, how this difference affects molecular properties, and how it is probed. Topics include: probing confined systems; structure and dynamics of thin films; nanorheology; diffusion in porous systems; adsorption and phase transitions; and reaction dynamics.