It is a great privilege and pleasure to welcome you to the MAD-Nano18: Madeira International Conference on Emerging Trends and Future of Nanomaterials for Human Health, in Funchal, Madeira Island, organized by the  Centro de Química da Madeira - University of Madeira, from 30 ^th of November to 02 ^nd of December 2018.

The islands of Madeira and Porto Santo were officially discovered by the Portuguese navigators Tristão Vaz Teixeira, Bartolomeu Perestrelo and João Gonçalves Zarco in 1419 and are considered the first territorial discovery of the period of the “Portuguese Age of Discovery”. With a subtropical-Mediterranean climate, a Laurisilva forest considered by UNESCO as a natural World Heritage Site and 2170 km of levadas (aqueducts that carry water from the northwest coast of the Island to the agricultural regions in the south), Madeira Island attracts tourists from all over the world throughout the year. It has also become a destination where people come to work and live in a safe and beautiful environment. The Island is well-served by infrastructures (airport, roads, industrial free zone, hospitals, university) and is well-connected to mainland Portugal and all the main European cities. Funchal, the capital and main city of Madeira Island, is located in a beautiful natural amphitheater. With its five centuries of history, the city maintains its charm from old times but remains open to modernity. Together with one of the few and emblematic buildings that survives from the early period of Madeira colonization (the Gothic Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Assunção from the late fifteenth-century), we are surrounded by views of white villas, tropical gardens, modern buildings and a stunning sea view with modern cruise ships and ancient boats.

I am delighted to welcome all of you to Madeira Island for the MAD-Nano18 and wish you a very pleasant scientific and social stay.