The 147^th committee on Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Materials hereby organized the international symposium mentioned in the title.

Conference topics ranged from the physics and chemistry of fundamental phenomena to the engineering of materials and devices. A continuous emphasis since ICANS 17 in 1997 on microcrystalline, nanocrystalline semiconductors complements the traditional force on amorphous thin films such as hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H), its alloys and chalcogenide glasses. The scientific program of ICANS24 featured well-attended sessions on characterization and processing of amorphous and nanocrystalline oxides, organic/molecular semiconductors and phase change memory materials, and on their device applications such as thin-film solar cells, thin-films transistors and light emitting diodes. Sessions for specialists on the film growth mechanisms, theory, defects, and metastability, and on electronic transport and optical properties provided opportunities for cross-fertilization among researchers studying diverse material systems.

A commemorative session was held on the 1st day of ICANS 24, as a tribute to Josef Stuke and Jan Tauc. The speeches were given by Profs. Martin Stutzmann, Techinische Universität Müchen, Germany and Bedrich　Velicky,　Institute　of　Physics,　Academy　of　Science　of　the　Czech　Republic,　v.v.i.,　Czech　Republic, respectively. Subsequently, Professor Jan Kočka, Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Czech Republic, delivered a stimulating Mott lecture on the subject of “Relation of Defects and Grain Boundaries to Transport and Photo-Transport: Solved and Unsolved Problems in Microcrystalline Silicon”. In the 5-day program of ICANS24, the commemorative session and the Mott lecture were followed by highlighted 13 invited talks that anchored three parallel sessions with about 151 oral presentations. 142 posters (Photo 1) were presented in the more relaxed atmosphere of two late-afternoon sessions.

The contributions made by researchers at the symposium will be organized by the 147^th committee as ICANS24 proceedings. After normal peer review, selected full papers will be published in a special volume of Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids.

Amorphous and nanocrystalline materials are now a prominent part of economic and industrial development, supporting our society from various aspects. The forefront of related research also rapidly grows, leading into new fields far beyond the conventional image of random network materials. The 147^th committee therefore expected to play a large role in the cooperation between industry and academia to propose a cutting edge, innovative session at an international symposium.

ICANS24 continued the tradition of biennial conference that have served since 1965 as the premier forum for scientific and technological exchange among researchers investigating amorphous semiconductors and related materials. ICANS24 brought 293 researchers in physics, chemistry, materials science and electronic devices from 29 countries to Nara city, Japan for an exciting conference. Nara was the first massive-scale capital city of Japan in the 8th century, and has a lot of historic architectures and world heritages. The scientific sessions was held from 21 to 26 August in the Nara Prefectural New Public Hall located in the center of the Nara National Park harmonized well with nature and one thousand tame deer walking round feely.

During the long history of this conference series, the conference had so far been held twice in Japan. In 1983 and 1995, the 10th and 16th conferences which entitled “International Conference in Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors (ICALS10)” and “International Conference in Amorphous Semiconductors (ICAS16) ”, respectively, were held in Tokyo and Kobe. The ICAS16 in 1995 was unforgettable especially for Japanese committee members because it was held about 6 months after the great earthquake disaster in the Hanshin/Kobe area, and even under the incomplete recovery, about 6 hundreds people attended the Kobe conference, which really encouraged us Japanese and contributed to the advance of science and technology of amorphous and nanocrystalline semiconductors. The ICANS24 faced more serious situation since 11 March, 2011 when extraordinary huge earthquakes and tsunami struck the Kanto/Tohoku area and caused terrible accidents in Fukushima nuclear power plants. In addition to remaining concerns on the nuclear power plant accident, there emerged financial obstacles due a high exchange rate of Japanese currency. Even under such hard situations, there were about a half of the participants from abroad (photo 2) , that made this conference fruitful and enjoyable.

The 147^th committee extends grateful thanks for the support by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).