In order to develop programs in education, technology transfer and research to achieve these goals, a partnership between the University of Minnesota, industries and government was established. The Center for Interfacial Engineering was born and the strategic plan is shown in Figure 1. Some statistics for this year are as follows. The budget is $6.5 M of which 41% is contributed by the NSF, 25% by the University of Minnesota and 34% by 54 industrial members. Sixty four faculty members from 6 departments are involved in the Center with 18 core CIE faculty. There are 244 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, 41 undergraduates and 69 industrial researchers directly involved in center projects.