In one of the most-accessed papers published in Nano Letters, Ken Shea and his graduate student Mariya Khiterer report a general method for the synthesis of uniform functional hybrid nanoparticles. Spherical bridged polysilsesquioxane nanoparticles are prepared utilizing microemulsion technology. The electrochemically active charged nanoparticles are being utilized in solid state electrochromic devices and as carriers for polyanions such as DNA. Nano Letters, 2007, 7, 2684-2687