provides an organized and carefully selected collection of current research papers from two recent symposia, including the characterization and processing of nanosize powders and particles and nanoscale and multifunctional materials symposia both held at the 6th pacific rim conference on ceramic and glass technology in fall 2005. the topics covered include techniques to characterize nanosize powders and nanoparticle dispersions, green processing of nanopowders, and the sintering and microstructure of nanoparticle assemblies.