Month: April 2005

Roland Piquepaille writes "Even if researchers are routinely building all kinds of nanodevices in their labs, the current production process of nanowires or nanosensors is similar to the car manufacturing process before Henry Ford. These nanostructures are almost handmade. Now, researchers at University of California Davis (UC Davis) have adapted a technology developed for Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. And they came with two new ways to massively produce nanowires of precise length. Their 'nanobridges' and 'nanocolonnades' are totally compatible with existing microelectronics fabrication processes. This opens the way for to a wide range of industrial-strength applications, such as bio-chemical sensing, nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, memory and logic devices for future computing. [See also] other details and references."

Just received a review copy of Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman, edited by his daughter Michelle, sister of Foresight member Carl Feynman. It includes letters about the two miniaturization prizes that Feynman offered personally, and quite a few new photos. I had the privilege of attending a couple of his informal tutorials for Caltech students — he made the most challenging physics seem so understandable. Foresight is proud to administer nanotech prizes in his name.–CP

The original 2004 provisional patent application describing the "Freitas process" proposed for building a working carbon dimer placement tool (DCB6Ge) for diamond mechanosynthesis experimentally — apparently the first patent ever filed on diamond mechanosynthesis — is now available online. In February 2005, a full utility patent was filed with the USPTO on this process. Freitas' 2004 Foresight Conference lecture describing a near-term pathway leading directly to diamond mechanosynthesis, which included a summary of this now patent-pending process, is also online here.

Robert A. Freitas Jr. is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM).

In some rather stunning work, Joseph AuBuchon, a graduate student in Sungho Jin's group at UCSD, has demonstrated how to make *bent* nanotubes. PhysOrg has a report here. (Check out the pictures!) They also claim to be able to make T and Y shapes out of nanotubes.

This could be a potential start towards methods that might be used to construct subcomponents for a real molecular assembler. That would allow one to bypass the chicken and egg problem we now face.

Judy Conner brings our attention to a story in Medical News Today: "According to a new study by the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health (CPGGH) at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB), a leading international medical ethics think-tank, several nanotechnology applications will help people in developing countries tackle their most urgent problems – extreme poverty and hunger, child mortality, environmental degradation and diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. The study is the first ranking of nanotechnology applications relative to their impact on development; it was published today by the prestigious, open-access, US-based Public Library of Science journal." Foresight participated in the international panel of experts surveyed.

The current issue of NanoNews-Now offers the results of two expert surveys, one on nanotech business and one on nanotech education, both focusing on what kind of training is most in demand. Pamela Bailey of tinytechjobs offers advice on how to get employed in nanotech: Read More for excerpt. (Site is paid subscription, but there's a 90-day free trial.)

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the University of Toronto (U of T) have designed an infrared-sensitive material made of nanocrystals so small they were able to tune them to catch the Sun's invisible rays. In "Nanotechnologists' new plastic can see in the dark," you'll discover that it's the first time that a light-sensitive material works in the invisible light spectrum. This opens the way to a broad range of applications, from clothing to digital cameras that work in the dark. But the real breakthrough is that it will permit to catch five more times energy from the Sun, up to 30 percent from the 6 percent achieved today by the best plastic solar cells. Hats off to these researchers… This overview contains more details, comments and references."

euspen vision online writes " Vision on-line ñ Wish List
A Virtual Institute Supporting Industry On-line in precision engineering, micro engineering, microsystems and Nanotechnology

Coordinated by euspen.

VisionOnline is providing a free web-based partnering service enabling companies and research organisations/universities worldwide to share their knowledge in the fields of precision engineering, microsystems and nanotechnology.

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Erik Winfree's group at CALTECH, led by Paul Rothemund, is reporting in PLOS that they have successfully implemented DNA based cellular automata. It is uses two-dimensional self-assembly of DNA tiles to produce Sierpinski triangles. Technology Research News has a summary article and Slashdot may have additional discussion.

[email protected] writes "Applications are now being accepted to exhibit at Taiwan NanoTech 2005 — Taiwan's first ever nano-technology event that will lead the 4th wave across Asia this September 23 to September 25."

This event brings together years of development of nanotechnology by private, institutional, and government. It underscores the integration of nanotechnology, biotechnology and other high tech industry currently underway at scores of nanotech science parks throughout Taiwan and around the world."

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