Chemical processes in the universe appear as a complex tapestry with topics ranging from molecules in the ‘empty space between stars’ to the formation of solar systems and the origin of life. The topic of “Formation and Evolution of Solids in Space” has become one of the leading activities in astronomy and astrophysics, with the current operation of the Infrared Satellite Observatory (ISO), the recent advances in laboratory astrophysics and the results expected from the various space missions on comets (Rosetta, etc.). The proposed school aims to follow the evolution of solid particles in interstellar space and show how they are represented within the current solar system. The application of greatly improved microprobe techniques on micro-meteorites collected in the Earth’s atmosphere reveals the origin of interstellar dust. Some interstellar dust components that formed in stellar atmospheres are identified with mineral components found in comet dust, meteorites as well as in interplanetary particles. The most abundant constituents of interstellar dust are those that bear the infrared signature of molecules containing carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen and that form and evolve chemically and physically in clouds of gas and dust in the space between stars. How are all the molecular constituents of interstellar dust, comet dust and interplanetary dust connected? Can probes of protostars and young stellar objects reveal how solar systems form? Dust disks around young stars may be precursors to planet formation. Some types of meteorites seem to have structures and signatures not very different from those of comets, despite having very different origins, why? These are issues that will be explored in this school.