XVII Congress of SPM and VII International Materials Symposium Bearing in mind the increasingly demanding applications, MATERIALS at different size scales, shapes and combinations need to be well understood at scientific and technological levels. Hence, the biggest challenge for Academia and Industry is a global understanding of each other’s role and a clear communication between all actors. New materials will have to be discovered, whilst the existing ones have to be optimized for each new application as far as characterization, processing, design and modelling are concerned. This will have to be done from nano to macroscale, considering life cycle analysis and sustainability. Materiais 2015 aims at examining relevant Materials’ areas with the purpose of promoting a better understanding of Materials’ behaviour and applications as related to more efficient and sustainable forms of energy production and storage; new biomedical uses; structural intelligent materials; efficient use of materials in buildings, transport, electronics, mechanics, materials and art, among others. The Conference will be run under the auspices of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Materiais, which has active groups in all classes of materials: metals, ceramics, polymers and composites.