The associate labratory CICECO was created on March 2002 in the university of Aveiro (UAVR), Portugal, with the mission of developing the scientific and technological knowledge necessary for the innovative production and transformation of ceramics and composite materials. Its main areas of expertise are: advanced micro- and nano-structured materials for communications technologies; advanced materials for industrial applications; chemistry and technology of polymeric and lignocellulosic materials and biomaterials.