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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: Nanodot

Small Times launches micro-, nano-oriented website

from the nano-trade-press dept.
Stuart Scott brings our attention to smalltimes.com, a new web site "devoted entirely to the fast-growing industry that includes MEMS, microsystems and nanotechnologies."

The new site is produced by Small Times Media, a company "devoted entirely to the fast-growing industry that includes MEMS, microsystems and nanotechnologies. As these remarkable technologies move from laboratories to the marketplace, Small Times Media will offer full news coverage and industry-related trade events." The publishers say coverage on the site will include such areas as analysis of business developments; breaking news in life sciences, consumer goods, environmental, defense, telecommunications and transportation applications; a small tech stock index; and an industry calendar of events such as conferences and trade shows.

According to a notice on the web site, the firm will also launch Small Times Magazine in September 2001. The magazine will cover applications and technical breakthroughs, offer stories and profiles on industry leaders and pioneers, innovations and resources shared between academia, investors, government and industry. It will also spotlight key issues in the industryís development and market intelligence.

Ralph Merkle to present public program on nanotechnology

from the 21st-century-teach-in dept.
Ralph Merkle, a principal fellow at Zyvex Corp. and winner of the 1998 Feynman Prize, will lead a half-day public program on nanotechnology at the University of California Berkeley campus on Saturday, 5 May 2001 (That's this coming Saturday). Designed for the lay public, "Nanotechnology: Basic Concepts and Potential Applications" will take place on Saturday, May 5, from 1 to 5 p.m., in Dwinelle Hall on the UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California. The fee is $20. To register, call 510/642-4111 or register online. For more information see www.learningsphere.org/nanotech.htm.

At the four-hour public UC Berkeley Extension program, Dr. Merkle will explain the basic concepts of nanotechnology and the potential it offers in medicine, computer science, aerospace and the military, as well as other fields. He will examine how the development of this powerful technology could be best guided to maximize the benefits while minimizing any potential risks. The program is co-sponsored by the Foresight Institute.

Richard Smalley derides concept of nanobots

from the sigh dept.
Both nanofluidicist and Sander Olson call our attention to comments by Richard Smalley of Rice University in the recently released NSET report on the societal implications of nanotechnoogy. In the report, while making remarks in support of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative, Smalley makes reference to the scare that has been raised over the possibility for autonomous, self-replicating nanorobots. According to Smalley, nanobots are "an impossible, childish fantasy," a "fuzzy-minded nightmare dream."

A response to similar comments attributed to Smalley last November appeared in Foresight Update #43.

Read more for an excerpt of Smalley's comment from the report.

Engineering Times sees big future for nanotechnology

from the the-vision-thing dept.
The April 2001 issue of Engineering Times, the monthly magazine of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) features a cover story on nanotechnology ("Science of the Small Has Big Engineering Future", by Rachel Davis). The article ranges over a variety of research from self-assembly and smart materials, to bio-motors and photonics, even medical applications. Itís another indication of the rapidly increasing level of interest in nanotechnology from the engineering community.

Two choice excerpts:
"As engineers broach the "science of the small" and explore nanotechnology, a new world of engineering possibilities is beginning to open up. In addition, recent breakthroughs in many areas-such as materials science, nanoelectronics, microfluidics, proteomics, photonics, and bioinformatics-are spurring changes in the content of engineering courses at universities. In this atmosphere of change, many engineers believe that new disciplines of engineering will emerge or existing disciplines will change to adapt to new fields."
And: "Researchers say the future will also require "Renaissance engineers" who have the communications skills and broad educational background that allow them to work with other professionals who may speak very different technical languages, coming from fields such as biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science."

Will Albany, New York become "Nanotech Valley"?

from the new-york,-new-york! dept.
In addition to the major funding partnership with IBM announced on 23 April 2001, the University of Albany in New York state is moving forward with additional programs to establish itself as a major nanotechnology research and development center. The University of Albany is establishing a School of Nanosciences and Materials to prepare students for high-tech jobs in nanotechnology. The school will offer cross-disciplinary doctoral and master's degree programs. According to a report in the Capital District Business Review from 16 April 2001, Alain Kaloyeros, executive director of the university's Institute for Materials who will be the new school's founding dean, said in a prepared statement that nanotechnology "combines the basic principals of chemistry, physics, biology and engineering to develop the knowledge for controlling and manipulating individual atoms to yield materials, devices and systems."
A more extensive report appeared in the Albany Times Union on 14 April 2001

An article by Kaloyeros in the March 2001 issue of Semiconductor Magazine ("Big Plans for the Tiny World Of NanoTechnology: University, industry and government cooperate in new technology model") provides an in-depth look at the partnership between academia, industry and government that is creating a major nanotechnology research and development center in New York.

IBM announces array of nanotube transistors

from the molectronics dept.
According to an IBM press release, Philip G. Collins, Michael S. Arnold and Phaedon Avouris at the I.B.M. laboratory in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. have built the world's first array of transistors out of carbon nanotubes. The work is reported in the 27 April 2001 issue of Science. The breakthrough is a new batch process for forming large numbers of nanotube transistors. Until now, nanotubes had to be positioned one at a time or by random chance — which while fine for scientific experiments is impossibly slow and tedious for mass production. The IBM press site contains links to graphics that show how the process works.

In the same report, the IBM scientists show how electrical breakdown can be used to remove individual carbon shells of a multi-walled nanotube one-by-one, allowing the scientists to fabricate carbon nanotubes with the precise electrical properties desired. The report also shows how the scientists fabricate field-effect transistors from carbon nanotubes with any variable band-gap desired.

Read more for links to the Science article and press coverage.

Bulk nanomaterials could slash LCD costs

from the really-flat-panel-displays dept.
Brian Wang writes "EE Times has an article of a method for fabricating liquid crystal displays that employs self-assembling molecular arrays, and has the potential of disrupting the $1.3 billion LCD optical material market if its developers are able to bring their research to commercial mass production.
Optiva Inc. (South San Francisco, Calif.) has developed a new proprietary molecular engineering method to produce supramolecular lyotropic liquid crystals and optical coatings based on this material. This method could lead to producing LCDs at one-fifth of today's manufacturing costs."

JPL jumps on the nanotechnology bandwagon

from the e-beam-me-up,-scotty dept.
The entry of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA facility managed by CalTech, into the nanotechnology research and development arena has garnered some news:
Patrick Underwood pointed out this article in the online version Aviation Week and Space Technology on nanotechnology-related work at JPLís new Center for Space Microelectronics Technology (CMST).
Also, Saturngraphix found this JPL press release that provides some details of the work being conducted there.
You can also visit the JPL Center for Space Microelectronics Technology (CMST) website.

Research wants to be free?

from the seeking-the-source dept.
The proposal for the open Public Libary of Science continues to attract attention. alison writes "An extensive Scientific American article describes the proposal to publish the contents of all scientific journals on-line for free." The SA article also has links to debate over the proposal in Science, Nature, and other science journals.

For additional details, see the nanodot post from 13 April 2001.

Proposal: IMM/Foresight recruitment booth at science conferences

from the community-relations dept.
alison writes "I propose that IMM/Foresight have a booth at the exhibit or trade show of a major scientific or engineering meeting. The purpose of such a booth would be to recruit new members from the technical community, and in particular, to recruit folks who are players in nanotechnology research."

Read more for the details of alison's proposal.

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