An article in the Houston Business Journal ("Nanotechnology beginning to take center stage in Houston", by Jennifer Darwin, 1 March 2002) provides a brief look at NT-related activity in and around Houston, particularly at Rice University. The article notes that Nobel-laureate and fullerene nanotube researcher Richard Smalley has stepped down as head of the director of Rice's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, reported to focus on research and the commercial ventures in which he is a partner. The article also has an interesting quote from Smalleyís replacement as director of the CNST — Wade Adams, who was the chief scientist of the U.S. Air Force's materials laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio before joining Rice. According to the article:
Adams' goal is to find situations to which Rice's nanotechnology can be applied. He will look for opportunities for funding, partnering, collaborating, and ultimately, spinning off new companies focused on nanotechnology. "We think nanotechnology is going to have a huge payoff, tying to the medical profession and biology," Adams says. "It is extremely obvious that we need to be doing more to bring the nano expertise we have at Rice to the (Texas) Medical Center."
