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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Month: January 2001

Pathway for mechanical engineering into the nanotech era

from the What's-in-it-for-ME? dept.

In an interesting article in the ASME journal Mechanical Engineering, ("A Frontier for Engineering," January 2001), Mihail Roco suggests that focused education and training, and collaborative research and development programs offer a pathway for mechanical engineering to enter into the developing nanotechnology "industrial revolution."

Roco is a senior advisor for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Engineering, and was a key figure in the formulation of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative.

According to an accompanying editorial by John G. Falcioni, Editor-in-Chief, Roco's article is the first in a year-long series that will "invite leaders in the field of nano-technology to explore scientific and engineering issues influencing research, testing, development, manufacturing, and commercialization."

Note: These URLs may change. You can access the Mechancial Engineering Magazine site at http://www.memagazine.org.

Read More for excerpts from Roco's article and Falcioni's editorial.

Senate bill proposes major expansion of nanoscience funding

from the nanopork-for-New-Mexico dept.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) has introduced legislation to boost federal funding for nanoscience research performed at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, and at New Mexico universities. In a press release issued by his office, Sen. Bingaman's bill is described as "legislation designed to direct millions more dollars annually into research and development of nanoscience ñ the science of manipulating materials on an atom by atom basis."

Bingaman's bill (S.90), called the "Department of Energy Nanoscale Science and Engineering Act" lays out a five-year plan to boost the authorization for research and development of nanoscience from $160 million in fiscal year 2002, and rising to $330 million by fiscal year 2006. Research would be funded through the Department of Energy's Office of Science. For fiscal year 2001, the Office of Science was appropriated $84 million for nanoscience research as part of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The entire NNI is funded at about $420 million for FY2001, so Bingaman's proposal amounts to a near doubling of federal nanoscience research funding.

EC Center examines impact of robotics, AI

from the limited-vision dept.

An interesting report on the impact of robotics and advanced automation (read: semi-autonomous AI) appears in the October 2000 issue of the IPTS Report, published by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, which is part of the Joint Research Center of the Eurpean Commission (think of it as the EC equivalent of the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy).

While it doesnít anticipate nanotechnology or strong AI, the article presents some interesting scenarios on how governments and societies might respond to the displacement of workers from industrial and service sector jobs by intelligent robotic systems, and discusses socio-economic tensions that might arise as we move toward a knowledge-based economy.

The Cassandra Prophecy: population problem

from the billions-of-billions dept.
David Coutts writes "I enjoyed reading the recent CNN article about Stephen Hawkings' predictions for the human colonisation of our solar system in the next 100 years. In particular, he narrows it all down to 2 possibilities: (1) either we destroy ourselves )2) we engineer one or more species which surpass us… [About] option 2, at least I wrote an article recently with a similar view, called The Cassandra Prophecy. This is only the second draft, so I would appreciate constructive criticism: http://www.bnbg.com.au/~bnbgames/6billionZPG.htm" CP: Read more for an excerpt from Engines of Creation pointing out that space colonization postpones but does not solve the problem.

New "Nano Letters" journal free through June 30

from the read-fast-or-pay dept.
Stan Hutchings brings to our attention that the new journal Nano Letters is free of charge through June 30, 2001. The editor writes: "This convergence of the top-down and bottom-up approaches at the nanometer scale marks the first time in history when it appears within reach to design a macroscopic functional material by controlling the composition of matter on every length scale from the atom up. Many important properties of materials are controlled or limited by behavior on the nanometer scale, and so there is great opportunity in this area [excellent understatement –CP]…While there is great excitement about the possibilities opening up before us, it is also clear that we should be cautious and patient. Many of the great things we as a community want to accomplish are very hard to do and will take a great deal of effort and perhaps also a great deal of time." First issue looks good, including work by Seeman and Montemagno.

Audio of Foresight panel on the future

from the realtime-attempt-at-foresight dept.
Recently the Association of Internet Professionals in San Francisco invited five Foresight folks to discuss the future of the Internet. Naturally, we discussed nanotechnology as well. Meet advisor Stewart Brand, member James Canton, Senior Associate Dan Gillmor, media advisor Ed Niehaus, and moi (president) as we debate the future in MP3 format, including challenging audience questions.

Merkle in Spectrum: preventing nanotech abuse

from the white-hats-must-move-fast dept.
Senior Associate Ralph Merkle has an opinion piece in IEEE Spectrum on preventing nanotech abuse. Excerpt: "Deliberate abuse, the misuse of a technology by some small group or nation to cause great harm, is best prevented by measures based on a clear understanding of that technology. Nanotechnology could, in the future, be used to rapidly identify and block attacks. Distributed surveillance systems could quickly identify arms buildups and offensive weapons deployments, while lighter, stronger, and smarter materials controlled by powerful molecular computers would let us make radically improved versions of existing weapons able to respond to such threats. Replicating manufacturing systems could rapidly churn out the needed defenses in huge quantities. Such systems are best developed by continuing a vigorous R&D program, which provides a clear understanding of the potential threats and countermeasures available."

Nano-action film: watch DNA unzip

from the early-nanovisuals dept.
From a San Francisco Chronicle article on work published in Nature: 'Using some extraordinary camera tricks, scientists at the University of California at Davis have produced Lilliputian action shots of molecular "motors" unwinding strands of DNA…The images underscore recent dramatic advances in the field of nanotechnology, a discipline that scientists hope will allow precise control over the very fabric of matter.' The story links to the 2.4 Meg MPEG movie.

Motley Fool has ongoing discussion of nanotech

from the nanonews-everywhere dept.
Senior Associate Brad Hein posts nanonews at his nanosite, e.g.: "The Motley Fool has a discussion board on nanotechnology at http://boards.fool.com/Messages.asp?bid=113628. The Fool is a web site for education and news on investing. Generally, I've found their message boards to be pretty civil with a fairly good signal to noise ration." CP: Read More for an excerpt on the Foresight Conference from the discussion board.

ZDNet on downside of AI

from the good-news-bad-news dept.
Robert Trombatore writes "ZDNet's UK edition has an interesting article about AI. It's fairly well balanced and makes mention of Foresight Institute and its role in raising public awareness of emerging technologies."

CP: Here's an excerpt: "Minsky agrees that extinction at the mechanical hands of a robot race may be just around the corner, but says that developments in the field of artificial intelligence call for considered debate. He says he is encouraging artificial intelligence experts to participate in the work of the Institute." You can do that here on nanodot, and at the upcoming Senior Associate Gathering.

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