The Asian Society for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology (ASPEN) has been organized as a union of academic and industrial societies in the Asian regions to promote network and collaboration among industrialists, scientists and researchers in Asia. The conference is held every two years in a city in Asia. ASPEN started in Shenzhen, China in 2005. The second conference was held in Gwangju, Korea in 2007, the third in Kitakyushu, Japan in 2009, and the fourth in Hong Kong in 2011.