The keynote sets the stage for all that is to come. In the next five days we will learn where we are now and where we are going. The scanning probes provide us with data that is quite new and informative. Of course, we must still rely on all of the tools from other disciplines for a complete investigation of a given problem, but nonetheless, there is an established regime where the probes are supreme. The 7×7 reconstruction of the silicon (111) surface is a primary example where the tunneling current provides new information that is not obtainable with other means.1Our knowledge of this surface has reached the point where we can make detailed measurements of the electronic structure2and chemical reactivity3of each atomic site on this reconstructed surface. The theorists have been challenged by the data and they are stretching their calculations to new limits. The study of steps on this surface serves as an example where the new methodology is useful over a larger scale. It is hard to imagine how the structure of multiple steps,4or the details of the distribution of steps,5could be obtained with other technologies. Throughout this conference the topics, selected from various fields and multiple disciplines, will demonstrate the unique character of the scanning probes. Our progress has been chronicled by the editors who are responsible for the covers of technical and scientific magazines. We list the covers that they have chosen in Table I. In Table II we list book covers. The images started to appear in 1986. The year 1987 was a poor year; we did not find a single entry. But the interest picked up in 1988, in 1989, and again in 1990. We are confident that the trend will continue well beyond 1991.