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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Month: March 2001

boron nitride nanotubes, cones and spheres

from the alternative-chemistries dept.
Brian Wang spotted this interesting item in Electronic Engineering Times on boron nitride nanostructures: "Northwestern University research has delivered the world's first nanotubes, -cones and -spheres constructed from boron nitride rather than the usual carbon. Single-walled boron-nitride (BN) nanostructures are hypothetically stronger and lighter than steel, but were only recently demonstrated here by professor Laurence Marks. Once BN nanostructures are embedded into polymers, they could serve to ruggedize the surface of metal parts, as well as form the basis for oxidation-proof coating. BN nanostructures have been hypothesized since carbon buckyballs were first built in the 1980s. But previous evidence of BN nanostructures was limited to multiwalled nanotubes, concentric fullerenes and nano-arches, the images for which were obtained only after the samples had been exposed to air, contaminating them with artifacts."

The Future of MEMS is NEMS

from the Big-bugs-have-little-bugs dept.
Waldemar Perez calls our attention to an article on NanoElectroMechanical Systems (NEMS) in Technology Review Magazine ("NEMS: Machines Get Tiny," by David Voss, April 2001). In his opinion, Mr. Perez writes, "NEMS research promises to give us machines on the nanometer scale, [but this is] exactly there were critics argue Brownian motion will destroy them or make these machines unworkable and unreliable . . . these first generation NEMS prototypes will suffer from high wear (a well known problem on MEMS) until we can incorporate into them Drexler-type nanobearings and other devices."

Nanotechnology Regulation?

from the let's-think-twice dept.

Ralph Merkle, Principal Fellow at Zyvex, and Glenn Reynolds, who sits on the Foresight Board of Directors, were quoted extensively in a United Press International article ("Nanotech laws unlikely, say experts," by K. Hearn, 24 February 2001) on the potential for governmental regulation of nanotechnology. Both discounted the possibility, at least in the near future.

An online link to this article is not currently available. But Read more for a few excerpts . . .

Foresight Open Source Disclosure Project — Disclosed

from the Out-in-the-Open dept.

Thanks to coverage in Salon.com, and discussion on Slashdot.org — Foresightís new project to protect open source from patents — has been announced a bit ahead of schedule.

The Salon article ("Patents are your friends," by Damien Cave; 21 March 2001) sums things up pretty well:
"The Foresight Institute, a nonprofit nanotechnology think tank, will announce later this month that it is forming an alliance with IP.com, a Rochester, N.Y., start-up dedicated to protecting intellectual property through the publication of new ideas. Together . . . the pair will give open-source programmers and projects the chance to work within the patent system even as they strive to overturn it."

Read more for details . . .

Drexler Debunked? And Auschwitz, too.

from the bad-signal-to-noise-ratio dept.
MarkGubrud writes of his encouter with Lyle Burkhead's "geniebusters" site: "From a post to the Mind-X bulletin board at Ray Kurzweil's splashy new website, we learn of the existence of an actual "critique" of the idea of nanotechnology, specifically as described by Drexler and followers of his ideas. Since the absence in the literature of any scholarly papers examining Nanosystems or other published scholarly work on the theory of assembler-based nanotech stands in glaring contrast to the offhand dismissal of this body of work by some famous scientists and science journalists, I was eager to have a look at this putative coup de grace, at www.geniebusters.org.

"I find that this website makes a number of interesting points, but fails to support its overall position, which is an aggressive denunciation of Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation and the idea of assembler-based nanotechnology."

Editor's Note: Burkhead's site has been up on the web for some time (well over a year), but his "critique" hasn't generated much interest. Read more from Mark Gubrud's comments to see why . . .

Article profiles nanotechnology work at Cornell University

from the Up-close-and-personal dept.
Cornell Magazine recently ran an article that gives an in-depth survey of the nanotechnology-related research programs at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y. (ìSize Matters,î by Beth Saulnier, Jan/Feb 2001). Cornell is home to the Nanobiotechnology Center and the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility. While acknowledging the pioneering roles of Richard Feynman and Eric Drexler in the field, the article also contains some rather disparaging remarks from Cornell researchers who remain skeptical of the long-term potential of molecular nanotechnology. Still, itís an interesting look at the people, facilities, research and outlook at one of the major nanotechnology research institutions in the United States.

Boeing VP Dreams of Nanotechnology

from the Poetry-in-action dept.

Senior Associate Paul Melnyk calls our attention to a forward-looking address ("Dream to Make Something Happen") delivered by David O. Swain, Senior VP of Engineering & Technology for The Boeing Company, and also president of Phantom Works, the research and development organization of the company. The talk was delivered last October at the ASM International Materials Solutions Conference.
"Nanoscale science and engineering most likely will produce the strategic technology breakthroughs of tomorrow," Swain said. "Our ability to work at the molecular level, atom by atom, to create something new, something we could manufacture from the 'bottom up,' opens up huge vistas . . . There are huge possibilities." Swain concluded his address with a "call for action." He said: "I believe in what poet Carl Sandburg wrote: 'Nothing happens unless you first dream.' We need to dream again. Dream about new formulas, new metals, new materials. Dream about nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanotechnology. Dream about the possibilities, the opportunities, and then make our dreams come true. Then, and only then, can we unlock exciting frontiers with our discoveries."

ASM is a society for professionals concerned with industry, technology and applications of metals and materials, and has over 40,000 members who are engineers, managers, scientists, researchers, teachers, students, marketers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers. The Institute for Molecular Manufacturing co-sponsored a special session dedicated to molecular nanotechnology at the same conference. Swain's address and the IMM-sponsored session helped provide an overview of molecular nanotechnology to a part of the materials community that has been largely insulated from progress in this area.

Anti-Technology Movement Targets Nanotechnology

from the The-gods-themselves-contend-in-vain dept.

An article on an emerging global anti-technology movement appears on the web site of Reason Magazine ("Rebels Against the Future: Witnessing the birth of the global anti-technology movement," 28 February 2001). Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey reports on the International Forum on Globalization's "Teach-In on Technology and Globalization," held in New York City in late February.

According to Bailey, "If it's new, they hate it. What they fear and loathe most is biotechnology, but now some are beginning to train their sights on nanotechnology as well."

After detailing the presentations of what he describes as "an all-star cast of technophobes and other rebels against the future, featuring proud self-declared luddites," Bailey concludes, "The hopeful future of humanity freed from disease, disability, hunger, ignorance, poverty, and inequity depends on beating back the forces of know-nothing reaction such as those assembled at this weekend's Teach-In. The struggle for the future begins now."

MG Taylor to hold "Transparent Society" event

from the Inventing-the-Future dept.

Foresight benefactor and associate MG Taylor will hold a TANSTAAFL DesignShop Event, "Coding the Transparent Society," on May 8-10 in Palo Alto, California, bringing together a community of people concerned with impact of the advent of the Internet, an "Information Revolution that will alter global societies as dramatically as the invention of the printing press over 500 years ago . . . The decisions we make regarding the design of cyberspace will have an ever greater impact on our everyday lives in the years to come."
You are invited to participate in the event, where critical issues concerning the future of society and of the global information infrastructure will be discussed, solutions explored and next steps designed.

Read More for a sampling of issues on the table . . .

Budding Nanotechnologist Wins Intel Student Competition

from the Better,-Faster,-Cheaper dept.
PatrickUnderwood brings our attention to this remarkable story on ABCnews/Go.com:

Mariangela Lisanti, a high school student from Westport, CT, has been named as this yearís winner of the Intel Science Talent Search. She was awarded a $100,000 college scholarship.
Lisanti, who as already compiled an impressive resume, entered a physics project titled "Conductance Quantization in Gold Nanocontacts." She is the third young woman in a row to win the top prize in the Intel competition. Lisantiís work was conducted at Yale University under the guidance of Prof. Mark Reed, Chair of the Electrical Engineering department and a leading researcher in the field of molecular electronics. To better understand electron transport in tiny nanostructures, Lisanti developed a new measurement apparatus that enables data acquisition at an unprecedented rate and is applicable to a wide range of studies. Additional details are available on the Yale web site.
Amazingly, this is the second award of $100,000 Ms. Lisanti has received: She was also winner in the Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition in December 2000.

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