Our Emerging Investigator Series features exceptional work by early-career nanoscience and nanotechnology researchers. Read Sukjoon Hong and Joonmyung Choi's Emerging Investigator Series article 'Molecular mechanics of Ag nanowire transfer processes subjected to contact loading by a PDMS substrate' (https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NH00212D) and read more about them in the interview below.