The 43rd edition of the Symposium FORMEC has been held at the University of Padua on July 11-14, 2010, hosted inside the main building (Palazzo del Bo) of one of the oldest universities in the world, established in 1222, where scientists in different fields have worked and educated hundreds of thousands of students during the centuries, providing them with technical and cultural education, remaining faithful to the university’s motto “Universas universis patavina libertas”, i.e. everybody in Padua University has his/her freedom guaranteed.