Multifunctional (superhydrophobic) surfaces produced by femtosecond laser pulses
scitation.aip.org
scitation.aip.org
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/new-amazing-metal-is-so-hydrophobi...
are pretty amazing. Water bounces when it's dropped on the surfaces created this way.
They mention uses such as aircraft wings (no de-icing) and sanitation. I didn't see a mention of boat hulls, but that would be another area with a ton of commercial application.
I was wondering whether this could be done on glasses / transparent surfaces without greatly affecting the refractive index.
Possibilities are endless.