The attitude taken by insurance companies toward nanotech will have a major impact on the field. The OECD and Allianz, an insurance firm, have published a study on the opportunities and risks of nanotechnology (available in pdf format, 2.7 MB). From the announcement: “Allianz believes that it would not be appropriate to create a general… Continue reading Risks and rewards of nanotechnology, from OECD and Allianz
From a UC Irvine press release, based on work published in Nano Letters: UC Irvine scientists have demonstrated for the first time that carbon nanotubes can route electrical signals on a chip faster than traditional copper or aluminum wires, at speeds of up to 10 GHz…Now that Burke’s team has developed both high-speed nanotube-interconnect technology… Continue reading Nanotubes beat metal wires, reach 10 GHz
An earlier post discussed a new nanobusiness course at UC Berkeley, saying it was the first one, to our knowledge. Our knowledge has now expanded: Sean Murdock has taught such a course at Northwestern for a couple of years, and Rod Ruoff taught it for a year before that. Anyone earlier out there? –CP
[Update: see comments for link to full article] In an opinion editorial expected to run in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only) today [Update: it ran June 14], Environmental Defense President Fred Krupp and DuPont CEO Chad Holliday outline the steps that policymakers, academics, businesses and nonprofits need to take to maximize the potential and… Continue reading DuPont and Environmental Defense advocate 10% for nanotech testing
Frost & Sullivan has issued a report titled U.S. Nanotechnology Industry: Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities, which appears to be an analysis of 16 nanotech companies which make up their Nanotechnology Index. It costs US$4950, and is probably a useful report for high-level investors, but I’m afraid they are in for some gentle teasing —… Continue reading New Nanotech Index, plus gentle teasing
If you’re unsure about whether to buy the book Nanotech Fortunes: Make Yours in the Boom, you can wait for my review, or listen to this WallStreetReporter audio interview of the author. One point made is that he expects a series of booms and busts for the next 20 to 40 years. Sounds right to… Continue reading Nanotech Fortunes: Audio interview of the author
Researcher John Warren writes about his (politically-incorrect) frustration with being asked to engage in two-way dialogue with the public. The headline writer summarized it as “Scientists are too busy discovering hard facts to engage the public in constant dialogue, says John Warren”, but that’s not right. Warren says: “The trouble is, for a meaningful two-way… Continue reading Frustrated scientist makes non-PC objection to public dialogue
For those of us struggling to keep up with the very latest nanotech research: Get a quick intro of two key areas from the website of Harvard’s Prof. Charles Lieber, co-chair of this fall’s Foresight Conference on Advanced Nanotechnology research sessions. See the nanoelectronics animation on his homepage, and the nanosensing one here. Also on… Continue reading Nanosensing and nanoelectronic animations
From Physorg.com: “Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, and from eight other scientific institutions in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Italy have received 2 Million Euro from the European Union for research on “Active Biomimetic Systems”…One long term vision is the construction of nanorobots, which can perform work and other… Continue reading 2 million euros for biomolecular nanomachines
We in the U.S. who are interested in nanotech tend to focus on NSF, but DoE deserves substantial attention as well. See their overview page, and then download the pdf brochure on their nanoscale science research centers (worth the effort for the illustrations alone): Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Center for Nanophase… Continue reading Unsung hero of nanotech: U.S. Department of Energy
