In this volume, concepts of nonlinear dynamics and self-organization are applied to topics in materials sciences with emphasis on semiconductors, soft matter, and biomaterials. The questions addressed include how to compare ordering phenomena under nonequilibrium situations, usually called self-organized structures, with those arising under situations close to equilibrium via selfassembly. Analogies are pointed out, differences are characterized, and efforts made to discover common features in the mechanistic description of those phenomena. Of major importance is the question of the role of spatial and temporal order, in particular, the application of concepts developed on macroscopic and microscopic scales to structure formation occurring on nanoscales, which occupies the focus of interest on the frontiers of science.