Joerg Lahann's research interest is focused on the development of active, multi-functional biointerfaces, which are applicable to a range of biomedical applications. Joerg Lahann, an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, has been selected by Technology Review magazine as one of the top 100 young innovators with the greatest potential to have an impact on technology in the 21st century. He is also a recipient of the 2006 DOD Idea Award given for innovative research that could ultimately lead to major advancements related to breast cancer. In 2004, he was awarded a NSF–CAREER award, and his postdoctoral work on switchable surfaces (with Bob Langer at MIT) was recognized among the top research highlights in 2003 (C&EN News). Lahann has published more than 30 articles in a wide spectrum of scientific journals, as well as holding 19 patents and patent applications. The design and synthesis of active, dynamically controllable materials requires a multidisciplinary approach using complex concepts from surface science, chemical engineering, and chemistry. Recent advances in our group on the molecular design of active nanostructures include the introduction of reactive coatings (Lahann et al., Angew. Chem. 2001, Chen et al. JACS 2006), reversibly switching surfaces (Lahann et al., Science 2003), and anisotropic nanoparticles (Roh et al., Nature Materials 2005). These advances support the vision of smart interfaces that can act as templates in time-controlled surface interactions.