Category: Nanodot

from the you-wish dept.
The version of this item posted on 4 February 2002 incorrectly listed the amounts requested by federal agency in billions, rather than millions, of U.S. dollars. Unfortunately, the correct amounts are only millions. Below is the corrected version — Ed.

As part of the US$2.13 trillion budget proposed for the U.S. federal government for fiscal year 2003, the Bush Administration has requested a total of $679 million for the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a 17 percent increase over FY2002.

The request includes:

• An 11% increase for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to $221 million from $199 million
• A 12% increase for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), to $201 million from $180 million
• A 16% increase for the U.S. Department of Commerce, presumably primarily at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), to $44 million from $38 million
• A 6% increase for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), to $43 million from $41 million
• And a whopping 53% increase for the Department of Energy (DoE), to $139 million from $91 million. The DoE operates many of the U.S. national laboratories that are engaged in nanotech-related research.

According to the Analytical Perspectives: Budget of the United States Government, a document which discusses the Administrationís budge proposals in detail:

The budget provides $679 million for the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative, a 17 percent increase over 2002. The initiative focuses on long-term research on the manipulation of matter down to the atomic and molecular levels, giving us unprecedented building blocks for new classes of devices as small as molecules and machines as small as human cells. This research could lead to continued improvement in electronics for information technology; higher-performance, lower-maintenance materials for defense, transportation, space, and environmental applications; and accelerated biotechnical applications in medicine, healthcare, and agriculture. In 2003, the initiative will focus on fundamental nanoscale research through investments in investigator-led activities, centers and networks of excellence, as well as the supporting infrastructure. Priority areas include: research to enable efficient nanoscale manufacturing; innovative nanotechnology solutions for detection of and protection from biological-chemical-radiological-explosive agents; the education and training of a new generation or workers for future industries; and partnerships and other policies to enhance industrial participation in the nanotechnology revolution. The convergence of nanotechnology with information technology, modern biology and social sciences will reinvigorate discoveries and innovation in many areas of the economy.

The document is available online as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file (about 3.2 Mb). Additional budget documents are available at the White House/Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website.

It is worth noting that the document also mentions the following areas that will be addressed by the U.S. Information Technology Initiative: ëëtrustíí (security, reliability, and privacy); high-assurance software and systems; and micro- and embedded sensor technologies. The document is available online as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file (about 3.2 Mb). Additional budget documents are available at the White House/Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website.

It is worth noting that the document also mentions the following areas that will be addressed by the U.S. Information Technology Initiative: "trust" (security, reliability, and privacy); high-assurance software and systems; and micro- and embedded sensor technologies.

According to an article in Die Welt ("Julius-Springer-Preis für die Erforschung von Nanoröhrchen", 4 February 2002, in German), Cees Dekker, a physicist in the Netherlands, has been awarded this yearís Julius Springer Prize in Applied Physics for his work on the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and their application in molecular electronic circuits. Recent coverage of this work by Dekker and his colleagues ran here on Nanodot on 13 November, 8 August, and 5 July 2001

The award to Dekker marks the second time in recent years that the Springer Prize in Applied Physics has gone to researchers in molecular electronics. In June 2000, HP Labs researcher Stanley Williams and his UCLA collaborator Jim Heath received the award, one of the most prestigious international awards in the field, for their work in nanotechnology and molecular electronics.

As part of the US$2.13 trillion budget proposed for the U.S. federal government for fiscal year 2003, the Bush Administration has requested a total of $679 million for the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a 17 percent increase over FY2002.

The request includes:

• An 11% increase for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to $221 million from $199 million
• A 12% increase for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), to $201 million from $180 million
• A 16% increase for the U.S. Department of Commerce, presumably primarily at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), to $44 million from $38 million
• A 6% increase for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), to $43 million from $41 million
• And a whopping 53% increase for the Department of Energy (DoE), to $139 million from $91 million. The DoE operates many of the U.S. national laboratories that are engaged in nanotech-related research.

According to the Analytical Perspectives: Budget of the United States Government, a document which discusses the Administrationís budge proposals in detail:

The budget provides $679 million for the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative, a 17 percent increase over 2002. The initiative focuses on long-term research on the manipulation of matter down to the atomic and molecular levels, giving us unprecedented building blocks for new classes of devices as small as molecules and machines as small as human cells. This research could lead to continued improvement in electronics for information technology; higher-performance, lower-maintenance materials for defense, transportation, space, and environmental applications; and accelerated biotechnical applications in medicine, healthcare, and agriculture. In 2003, the initiative will focus on fundamental nanoscale research through investments in investigator-led activities, centers and networks of excellence, as well as the supporting infrastructure. Priority areas include: research to enable efficient nanoscale manufacturing; innovative nanotechnology solutions for detection of and protection from biological-chemical-radiological-explosive agents; the education and training of a new generation or workers for future industries; and partnerships and other policies to enhance industrial participation in the nanotechnology revolution. The convergence of nanotechnology with information technology, modern biology and social sciences will reinvigorate discoveries and innovation in many areas of the economy.

The document is available online as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file (about 3.2 Mb). Additional budget documents are available at the White House/Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website.

It is worth noting that the document also mentions the following areas that will be addressed by the U.S. Information Technology Initiative: "trust" (security, reliability, and privacy); high-assurance software and systems; and micro- and embedded sensor technologies.

from the steady-progress dept.
According to a Hewlett-Packard Company press release (23 January 2002), the collaborative research team led by James Heath, a UCLA chemistry professor and staff researcher at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), and Stanley Williams and Philip Kuekes at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories has announced another advance in their research program to develop computing systems based on molecular electronic components, which has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent Office. HP was previously awarded patents for related molectronics work in July 2001 and October 2000.

Additional coverage of the research and the new patent can be found in this Associated Press article ("Advance Made in Molecular Computing", 23 January 2002) posted on the New York Times website (free access with registration); and this article from Reuters News Service ("HP Says Atom-Sized Computer Chips a Lot Closer", 23 January 2002). Many other newsfeeds are reporting the story (and thank you to those who submitted posts), but most are mere rewrites of the HP press release, or the AP or Reuters wire story.

Heath, Williams and Kuekes have been making steady progress toward their goal of developing molecular computing systems (see posts on Nanodot from 26 October, 17 July, 18 July, and 13 April 2001 and 18 August 2000, and articles in Foresight Update issues #44 and #42). The team was jointly awarded the 2000 Foresight Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for Experimental Work. Some interesting background on this research team can be found in a profile of Jim Heath ("Speed Demon", by Gary Taubes) that appeared in UCLA Magazine in the Spring 2000 issue (and therefore is about two years out of date); in this interview with Stan Williams (also about two years old) and this feature article ("Molecules that compute") from 1999, both on the HP Labs website.