Abstract
This chapter reviews both the economic and technological landscapes of surface engineering. It is shown that surface engineering aims to modify the properties of surface and subsurface layers of an object to meet a specific performance goal. The focus is on the enormous growth in the field in light of emerging technologies that enable manipulation of matter at virtually any scale. The presentation emphasizes the diversity of the subject and its relation to desired performance of objects in tribological situations. The chapter also defines the traits of an ideal tribological surface and briefly discuses obstacles that hinder materialization of the envisioned ideal surface construct.