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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Month: August 2000

IBM demonstrates quantum computer using custom molecule

from the Nano-Blue dept.
IBM-Almaden researcher Isaac Chuang described his team's experiments that demonstrate what IBM claims is the world's most advanced quantum computer, which is based on a single, specially designed molecule containing five fluorine atoms. Chuang presented the results on 15 August 2000 at Stanford University at the Hot Chips 2000 conference, which is organized by the IEEE Computer Society. An IBM press release described the research; the web version contains a number of useful links to related items.

UPDATED: An article in the 26 August 2000 issue of Science News provides a useful overview of this research, a graphic of the molecule used, and links to references and resources.

Implementation plan for U.S. Nanotech Initiative

from the macrogovernment-nanoplan dept.
Space policy expert Scott Pace of Rand Corp. — a member of the Foresight team even before it was formalized — points out that the Implementation Plan for the National Nanotechnology Initiative is now available. Annoyingly, it's posted only in pdf format.

Nanocomputing startup funded by venture capital

from the race-is-on dept.
Senior Associate Tom Glass points out an article from the Houston Chronicle about the nanotechnology work of Jim Tour. and Mark Reed in their startup Molecular Electronics Corp: The fact that the company has been able to raise venture capital is also a significant milestone, says Dan Hutchison, president of VLSI Research, a microchip industry research firm. "In the past, there's been nothing interesting going on, like someone getting venture funding," Hutchison says. "But if a company has actually managed to get VCs interested, that's different. They may not be entirely sure of the technology, but they're willing to bet on the people involved." More URLs in the sidebar. Here's an earlier New York Times article on the company.

Forrester predicts win for open source

from the goodbye-micro-hello-nano dept.
Senior Associate (and Nanodot co-founder) Dave Krieger brings our attention to this story from Wired: "Open-source standards will completely reshape the software industry by 2004, according to a recent report by Forrester Research. IBM and Dell will eventually triumph, while Oracle and Microsoft will struggle to cope with a changing marketplace. Forrester forecasts that within four years, all traditional software vendors will need to change their proprietary business models to open-source ones, or drastically lower the price of enterprise application licenses…And eventually, the report forecasts, MS [Microsoft] will become little more than a 'legacy vendor,' offering support for its antiquated products." Eric Raymond couldn't say it better…No, cancel that, he probably could.

Stem cell ethics: primitive medicine causes disputes

from the Gush-vs-Bore dept.
Paul Ryan brings to our attention this LA Times story on the political controversy over stem cell use. Don't we all look forward to the day when we have real nanomedicine that doesn't require these bizarre kludges?

Burning Man 2000: Project Singularity

from the party-time dept.
rlsnow writes "Project Singularity at Burning Man 2000 has begun rabid self-organization. The first theme camp in the history of known civilization inspired solely by ideas of Singularity starts in Nevada's Black Rock Desert on August 28th." Senior Associate John Smart is co-organizer of this project; a number of other Senior Associates attend Burning Man.

Roundup wins in Software Carpentry contest

from the "let's-build-better-tools-for-thought" dept.
The results are in for the final stage of the Software Carpentry open source software design competition. The design paper for Roundup, an issue tracking and discussion tool which is part of the plans for Engines of Creation 2000 phase 4, was chosen as the winner of the "issue tracking" category of the competition. Senior Associate Ka-Ping Yee is the creator of Roundup, which Foresight plans to use for serious discussion.

bending nanotubes for electronic modification

from the society-for-imposition-of-cruelty-to-nanotubes dept.
Two groups of researchers have measured electronic effects of mechanical deflection in nanotubes. A group mostly at Clemson permanently bent multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) and saw "local metallic character" at the kink. They have an abstract online. A group mostly at Stanford reversibly bent single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) with an AFM tip and saw hundredfold drops in conductivity in their experiments. They have an abstract and a press release online.

UW receives NSF grant to launch doctoral program i…

from the Go-Huskies! dept.

In a press release issued on 24 July 2000, the University of Washington (Seattle) announced it is launching the nation's first doctoral degree program in nanotechnology. The UW already operates the Center for Nanotechnology.

The new program will put in place a Ph.D. nanotechnology track tied closely to other science disciplines. Nine departments will take part, and students will earn concurrent degrees in nanotechnology and in a discipline of science, engineering or medicine. The effort is being funded by a $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education Research Training program.

More about the program can also be found in this article from the Bellevue, Washington Eastside Journal (7 August 2000).

Richard Smalley comments on runaway replicators

from the sufficient-unto-the-day dept.
Richard Smalley, Nobel-laureate researcher into carbon nanotubes at Rice University, recently appeared as a panelist on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation – Science Friday" program (11 August 2000). In response to a question about the concerns that nanotechnology might get out of control, Smalley responded:

"Most of the discussion, at least in my experience, ends up coming back to the self replicating out of control robots, and I think that that, at the moment, is a silly concern."

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