The 44th IEEE Semiconductor Interface Specialists Conference (SISC) will be held in Key Bridge Marriott Hotel, Arlington, VA, on December 5-7, 2013, i.e., immediately prior to the IEDM. The SISC provides a unique forum for device engineers, solid-state physicists, and materials scientists to discuss issues of common interest. Principal topics for discussion at SISC are semiconductor/insulator interfaces, the physics of insulating thin films, and the interaction among materials science, device physics, and state-of-the-art technology. The first SISC meeting was held in 1965 and attendance was by invitation. The conference, now public, alternates between the east and west coasts, and meets just before the IEDM. An important goal of the conference is to provide an environment that encourages interplay between scientific and technological issues. Invited and contributed talks, as well as a lively poster session, are presented in an informal setting designed to encourage discussion, and conference participants enjoy numerous opportunities for social gatherings with renown scientists and engineers. The conference emphasis is on silicon-based devices, including the SiC and SiGe systems, and topics evolve with the state-of-the-art. Invited and contributed talks are complemented by informal events designed to encourage lively discussion and debate. Generous hospitality allows attendants to focus on enjoying the conference. Hors d’oeuvres, wine, and cheese encourage interaction among poster authors and other conference participants at Thursday’s poster session. Friday afternoon has no scheduled talks, to allow time to meet informally or visit local attractions. On Friday evening the conference hosts a banquet and awards ceremony, complete with the now-famous (and always riotous) limerick contest. The limericks never fail to give the conference presentations, people and events an entirely new perspective! This year's SISC will continue the tradition of presenting an award memorializing Prof. E. H. Nicollian. The award will be given for the best student presentation. Ed Nicollian was a pioneer in the exploration of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) systems. His contributions were important to establishing SISC in its early years, and he served as the Technical Chair in 1982. With John Brews, he wrote the definitive book MOS Physics and Technology.