Category: Media Mentions

from the engineering-the-future dept.
Mechanical Engineering Magazine continues its year-long series focusing on nanotechnology. The latest installment ("Not without engineering," April 2001) is recommended by Giff Constable, who saw a notice about it in Tim Harperís TNT Weekly newsletter. GC writes: "For those heavily involved in nanotech issues, it will be old hat, but I thought it was one of the better written overviews I've seen, speaking as the non-scientist I am. The article was written by Arun Majumdar (professor and vice chair for instruction in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley [and] also member of the ASME Nanotechnology Steering Committee).
Note: The above URL may change. You can access the Mechancial Engineering Magazine site at http://www.memagazine.org.

This series emphasizes the growing interest in a variety of engineering disciplines in the challenges of developing molecular nanotechnology. Past articles in the ME series appeared in the January and February, issues.

from the bordering-the-beltway dept.
A quick look of nanotechnology activity in and around the U.S. capital can be found in this short article in Washington Techway ("Nanotechnology: The tiny world of atoms," by A. Daniels, April 9, 2001). The article presents a regional view of nanotech policy and research in Washington, D.C. and nearby academic and government research centers in Virginia and Maryland. The article quotes Senior Associate Richard Smith, director of forecasts in science, technology, and engineering for Coates & Jarratt, Inc., in Washington, as well as officials from NSF, NIST, and MITRE.

Note: in the accompanying illustration of Drexlerís design for a fine-motion controller, the caption erroneously states "Drexler . . . has constructed a detailed molecular manipulator". This is incorrect. The FMC has only been modeled, not constructed . . . yet.

from the it's-about-time dept.
Although the editors of Science have generally taken a dim view of the prospects for advanced nanotechnology, somebody at American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is taking the potential ethical and socioeconomic impacts seriously. The debate over genetics, nanotech and robotics (GNR) technologies sparked by Bill Joy's notorious article in Wired last year formed a major section in the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Yearbook 2001, which is a retrospective look back at 2000.

In addition to the full text of Joyís article from Wired ("Why the Future Doesnít Need Us," April 2000), a special section of the Yearbook on "Technologyís Impact on Society" includes responses by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid from The Industry Standard ("A Response to Bill Joy and the Doom-and-Gloom Technofuturists," 13 April 2000); a piece by Michael Dertouzos of MIT that appeared in Technology Review magazine ("Not by Reason Alone," September/October 2000); and an paper by Michael M. Crow and Daniel Sarewitz of Columbia University on "Nanotechnology and Societal Transformation" that was presented at the National Science and Technology Council Workshop on Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology held in September 2000.

The full AAAS Yearbook, as well as these individual items, are available online as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. There are also some interesting sections on the genetic modification of foods, and the impacts of information technologies.

from the wheat-from-chaff dept.
Senior Associate Richard H. Smith presents a brief overview of the potential of nanotechnology in a cover article in Modern Drug Discovery ("Nanotechnology gains momentum," April 2001), an publication of the American Chemical Society.

Smith, who is director of forecasts in science, technology, and engineering for Coates & Jarratt, Inc., in Washington, DC., writes: "Given a continuation of current trends, a truly potent nanotechnology will likely be realized within a decade or two. It could come in the form of exquisitely precise top-down procedures, such as moving molecules around with tiny robotic 'hands', or through a massively parallel bottom-up process, such as replicating cells."

After covering a variety of short- and medium-term research and development initiatives and discussing the potential long-term possibilities, Smith concludes: "That nanotechnology, even self-assembly with intentionality, is a serious field is no longer in doubt. But how to sort useful forecasts from unsupported conjecture remains a challenge. Are artificial immune systems worthy of discussion, or should we stick with whatís here and now? Should we fund only near-term deliverables and needed infrastructure, or challenge ourselves to keep investigating speculative but beneficial possibilities? The answer is easy: We should do both."

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.

from the What's-in-it-for-ME? dept.

In an interesting article in the ASME journal Mechanical Engineering, ("A Frontier for Engineering," January 2001), Mihail Roco suggests that focused education and training, and collaborative research and development programs offer a pathway for mechanical engineering to enter into the developing nanotechnology "industrial revolution."

Roco is a senior advisor for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Engineering, and was a key figure in the formulation of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative.

According to an accompanying editorial by John G. Falcioni, Editor-in-Chief, Roco's article is the first in a year-long series that will "invite leaders in the field of nano-technology to explore scientific and engineering issues influencing research, testing, development, manufacturing, and commercialization."

Note: These URLs may change. You can access the Mechancial Engineering Magazine site at http://www.memagazine.org.

Read More for excerpts from Roco's article and Falcioni's editorial.

from the nanopork-for-New-Mexico dept.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) has introduced legislation to boost federal funding for nanoscience research performed at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, and at New Mexico universities. In a press release issued by his office, Sen. Bingaman's bill is described as "legislation designed to direct millions more dollars annually into research and development of nanoscience ñ the science of manipulating materials on an atom by atom basis."

Bingaman's bill (S.90), called the "Department of Energy Nanoscale Science and Engineering Act" lays out a five-year plan to boost the authorization for research and development of nanoscience from $160 million in fiscal year 2002, and rising to $330 million by fiscal year 2006. Research would be funded through the Department of Energy's Office of Science. For fiscal year 2001, the Office of Science was appropriated $84 million for nanoscience research as part of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The entire NNI is funded at about $420 million for FY2001, so Bingaman's proposal amounts to a near doubling of federal nanoscience research funding.