"Smaller. Faster. Wildly complex." This could easily be the motto for semiconductors—the materials that, among lots of other advances in electronics, allow cell phones to continuously shrink in size while increasing the number of their mind-boggling functions. While exceptionally tiny, semiconductors possess the ability to enable a multitude of complex functions, making them an invaluable ingredient in electronics technology. But, while the computer age is in full bloom, knowledge of semiconductor nanostructures is still relatively young; and research seeking to answer essential and sometimes-basic materials questions is occurring at breakneck speed.