Category: Nanodot

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."

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.

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.

from the trend-analysis dept.
A short profile in Wired Magazine ("Kurzweil's Law," by P. Boutin) covers Ray Kurzweilís analysis of long-term technological trends. According to the article, "He'll lay out his conclusions next year in a much-anticipated book called The Singularity Is Near, in which (surprise) he'll argue that technology's increasingly rapid pace of change is fundamentally transformative, unstoppable, economically powerful, and cool. It's not just our optical networks that are getting better; according to Kurzweil, the capacity of human consciousness itself is expanding exponentially."

Kurzweilís analyses of these trends "aggregate progress into one big, constantly accelerating curve that flies off the charts at the point where its rate of change becomes infinite – mathematically speaking, a singularity. . . . In lay terms, the future beyond the singularity is completely unpredictable from today's vantage point."

You can find out more on Kurzweilís new web site, www.kurzweilai.net, which was recently covered here.

from the thanks-for-the-(molecular)-memory dept.
An article in the May 2001 issue of Technology Review Magazine details a patent for a molecular electronics device granted to the well-known team from HP Laboratories: Philip Kuekes, R. Stanley Williams and UCLA chemist James Heath ("Molecular Memory," by D. Rotman). According to the article, the HP research group received an initial patent on a molecular memory device in October 2000; and "a series of related patents covering everything from molecular logic to how to chemically assemble these devices is pending." You can view the patent (U.S. Patent 6,128,214) online.

Coverage of the work by the HP Labs research team has appeared in Foresight Update 42.

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.