Professor Thomas Webster gave an invited talk "Using nanotechnology to design more effective hard and soft tissue engineering materials" at a NATO (North American Trade Organization) Advanced Study Institute, held in Algarve, Portugal, October 13-24, 2003. The overaching theme of the Institute was "Learning from nature: How to design new implantable biomaterials."

The NATO Science Programme was founded in 1958, with the establishment of the NATO Science Committee, following the recommendations of a Committee on Non-Military Cooperation in NATO. The Science Committee immediately recognized that the training of young scientists and engineers was of paramount importance, and introduced a group of support mechanisms, some of which remain today - Advanced Study Institutes, Collaborative Research Grants and Science Fellowships. The predominant characteristics of the Programme have continued to be an emphasis on cooperation and catalysis, support for high scientific quality, and a capacity for rapid response to new developments.