Galileo Galilei has been called the “father of modern science.” Controversial within his lifetime, he played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. This symposium pays tribute to him, presenting research success stories that would not have happened without keeping Galileo’s “out-of-the-box” thinking and his impatient attitude alive. The Galileo spacecraft sent by NASA in 1989 to study Jupiter and its moons included lithium ion batteries with a 12-year lifetime. At the time, lithium ion batteries were very expensive; the prices are more affordable today. However, better and cheaper batteries are still needed for electric vehicles and smart grid applications, and research focused on energy density, durability, cost, and safety is ongoing. Another story will focus on improving measurements that lead to technological innovation. Timekeeping is a basic part of everyday life, from checking your watch to using satellite navigation. Advances in satellite navigation, such as in the European Galileo, depend crucially on improvements in time measurement after the development of the atomic clock in the 1950s, but more is to come. The symposium’s final research success story was inspired by Galileo’s research on materials. Galileo’s last work, his greatest masterpiece, focused on mechanics and materials’ strength. New strong materials created by manipulating atoms or molecules will be discussed with a particular emphasis on energy applications.