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Enrico Gnecco is professor of nanomechanics at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Genoa, and, before moving to Poland, he was a postdoctoral and senior researcher at the University of Basel and IMDEA Nanoscience in Madrid, and also served as a professor of mechanics of functional materials at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena. His work focuses on understanding the physical processes that govern surface phenomena such as friction, wear and adhesion down to the atomic scale. This is made possible by the combination of advanced microscopy techniques such as AFM, SEM and TEM with modeling work and theoretical studies performed in collaboration with several groups. This line of research, which is fundamental in nature, has a wide range of applications from solid lubrication to tactile sensors. It can also help understand and mitigate environmental problems such as nucleation and release of nanoparticles from solid surfaces damaged by abrasive or plastic wear.