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DOI: 10.1002/adma.201900370 such as Li, Na, and H2 storage materials, catalytic materials, perovskite materials, photovoltaics, and thermoelectric materials. The authors involved in this special issue have proven their outstanding research capabilities at UNIST. Lee et al. (article number 1804826) review naturally abundant nanocellulose as an exceptional 1D element for possible applications for energy-storage systems, including supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), and post-LIBs (such as lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), and metal–air batteries. Kim et al. (article number 1804936) report recent progress of rechargeable seawater batteries distinguished from conventional Li-ion cells and these batteries, consisting of anode and cathode compartments, are separated by a Na-ion conducting membrane, allowing only Na+-ion transport between the two electrodes. Seawater batteries use natural seawater as the active material to store electrical energy in the chemical bonds of Na and to provide this energy on demand. Choi et al. (article number 1804822) demonstrate the serious effects of LiPF6 degradation in electrolytes and identify the key protagonists in the failure mechanisms for electrode–electrolyte interfaces in LiPF6-containing electrolytes, In addition, they highlight the recent development of functional additives with peculiar abilities to scavenge the reactive species produced by the decomposition of the above electrolytes. Song et al. (article number 1804909) review gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) in which a liquid electrolyte (LE) is entrapped by a small amount of polymer network, less than several wt% for Li-ion batteries. In this report, they focus on GPEs that are gelated in situ within cells instead of giving an overall introduction to GPEs. GPEs are prepared by a rather simple process and, at first, a mixture of nonaqueous electrolytes and monomer or polymer in liquid phase was introduced into a pre-assembled cell without electrolyte, which was followed by thermal gelation based on physical gelation, monomer polymerization, or polymer crosslinking. Moon et al. (article number 1805293) highlight important recent research and development in hydrogen-isotope separation based on various types of advanced porous materials, such as carbons, zeolites, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and newly proposed separation mechanisms. Baek et al. (article number 1805062) review fused aromatic network (FAN) structures consisting of ordered porous polymers, which enable the specific fusion of building blocks into extended porous network structures with designed skeletons and pores. They summarize the use of FANs for tuning metal surfaces and as an interface for enhancing electrocatalysis. Son et al. (article number 1804930) report ink-based processing for the preparation of thermoelectric (TE) materials for This special issue presents the essence of the strongly competitive 14 research activities in the field of materials science and engineering at UNIST to celebrate its 10th anniversary. UNIST made a leap from a national university to a government-funded Science & Technology institute. After its opening in 2009, UNIST’s success stems in part from its tremendous growth trajectory. In less than a decade, it has recruited over 300 faculty members from all over the world. The student body, which consists of about 3471 undergraduates and 1801 graduates, is highly international, and education at UNIST is conducted in English. Most students are scholarship recipients. In order to attain our goal of being ranked among the “World’s Top 10 Universities of Science and Technology by 2030”, UNIST has been actively promoting the development of outstanding and useful research brands that well-represent UNIST in accomplishing our new goal of “Raising a $10 Billion Development Fund by 2040”. The city of Ulsan has provided the annual development funding of US $1 billion to UNIST from 2009 to 2024. In addition, Ulju County also has donated the annual funding of US$ 0.5 billion for the next 10 years (from 2012 to 2022). Since 2012, UNIST has accomplished the feat of hosting 3 IBS Campus Research Centers on campus, receiving funding of US $300 billion over 10 years from Korea Institute for Basic Science. UNIST has once again proved its research excellence by being ranked continuously as the top university in South Korea for the second consecutive year in the CWTS Leiden Rankings, since 2017. UNIST has also been recognized as the top university for global research quality in the 2018 THE World University Rankings by being placed as South Korea’s 1st, and ranked in 48th place in the world. In addition, in the 2018 edition of THE World’s Best Small Universities ranking, UNIST was ranked 1st place in Asia and 6th place in the world. Based on SciVal, by Elsevier Research Intelligence, designed to provide research performance metrics for 4600 research universities and other institutions in more than 200 countries, UNIST shows very strong competiveness in the field of Materials Science. This Special Issue of Advanced Materials features 3 Reviews, 11 Progress Reports, and 2 Research News articles, highlighting the field of energy conversion & storage materials,