"Scales and magnitudes are part of the stuff that scientists love,"Science Magazinewrote in one of its issues in the early '90s. Cosmology and megascales on the one hand, and atoms and microscales on the other, give you a sense of how grand nature is and how consistent the physical pictures are. Today, science still loves scales and magnitudes and the direction is clear: Make it small and beautiful, make it nano.
The world was still a big place then. Feynman swam against the stream as he dared to think small.
Today, thinking small has become fashionable. The buzzword nanotechnology stands for this fashion, a fashion that explores the room at the bottom, a fashion that is beginning to catch on.
Feynman was not afraid to consider the question of whether scientists can arrange atoms the way they want - the very atoms all the way down to subatomic particles. "What would happen if we could arrange the atoms one by one the way we want them? What would the properties of materials be?"
Let's try to answer the most natural of questions first: What is nanotechnology?
"The more you learn, or the more you try to learn, the more you realize how much you do not know," says Wolfgang Porod, Frank M. Freimann Professor of Electrical Engineering at Notre Dame University in Indiana. "I have been in the field of nanotechnology for some time, and I probably know more than a newcomer," Porod points out, "but to use another cliché: Behind every door you open, you find others yet to be opened."
Reality check. Wolfgang Porod opened his first door in 1981, right after earning his Ph.D. in theoretical physics, which he finished with "Promotio sub auspiciis Praesidentis Austriae" honors at the University of Graz. After appointments as a postdoctoral research fellow at Colorado State University and as a senior research analyst at Arizona State University, he joined Notre Dame as an associate professor, until becoming a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering in the summer of 1992, where he now serves as the director of its Center for Nano Science and Technology.
During his theoretical physics studies in Austria, he focused on the specific topic of solid state. He was mainly interested in studying semiconductors - materials used for transmission of information in electronics - and the properties and oscillations in crystal lattices. Remembering his arrival in the US, he recalls, "In the beginning I only planned to stay in the US for a year, but the theoretical physics community in Graz - especially the solid state community - was a fairly small one, so there were not any openings." Now it has been 26 years - "an incredibly long time," that Porod has lived and worked in the United States.
Sustainability is once again gaining a foothold in the global consciousness and perhaps also in the global conscience. The recent public deliberations about global climate change provide evidence of the value of sustainable development, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." If joined with an appropriate set of values and goals, new technologies can promote sustainability, and the nascent field of nanotechnology offers this opportunity. As an enabling technology, nanotechnology has the
potential to permeate and improve all industrial sectors and influence
their development toward sustainability. The opportunity exists right
now to develop Green Nanotechnology - a sustainable approach to nanotechnology from design to production and
product use to disposal or recycling. Green Nanotechnology can help
prevent future environmental problems while addressing those of the
present and past. Just what is nanotechnology?
Samuel Stupp, director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine at Northwestern University, is at the center of cutting-edge medical research that has the potential to tackle challenges like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart attacks, and spinal cord injuries.
In Stupp's opinion, the keys to these yet-unsolved problems are nanotechnology and regenerative medicine. In one of Stupp's experiments, lab mice with severed spinal cords regained partial function in their hind legs. The question is: Can these results eventually be translated to humans?
Professor Stupp - according to Scientific American one of the "50 Leaders Shaping the Future of Technology for 2005," and one of the "15 Scientists That Will Change Your World" (Biotechnology Industrial Organization) - wants to find out. Among his numerous society and board memberships, he is also connected to Austria as a member of the University of Vienna Scientific Advisory Board.
In the following interview with bridges, Stupp provides insight into the stunning prospects of his cutting-edge research, addresses the controversial legal framework of research in regenerative medicine, and comments on the allegations of potential dangers of his research.
Nanotechnology and its applications in life sciences, medicine, electronics, and the environment is regarded as one of the key technologies of the 21st century. Nanotechnology promises major breakthroughs in areas such as materials, electronics, medicine, energy, environment, and biotechnology, as well as information technology. The establishment of a number of highly endowed funding programs promoting research and technology development in Europe, the US, and Asia emphasizes the great expectations placed on nanotechnology. In addition, in January 2006 during the UK Presidency of the EU, an Independent Expert Group recommended that 3% of the Gross Domestic Product be invested in research, and also indicated that nanotechnology is one of the most promising research areas for economic development and innovation
(http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/pdf/download_en/aho_report.pdf).
The potential impact of nanotechnology on European society as a whole is well known, and long-term strategies are essential for the promotion of nanotechnological research activities in Austria. Because of my position as a staff scientist at the Nano-System-Technologies division of ARC-Seibersdorf Research in Austria, bridges invited me to comment on the Austrian Nanotechnology landscape. I will summarize my understanding of past, present, and future nano-activities in Austria, as well as my personal impressions as a researcher in this emerging field.
The US Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies: an Interview with Julia Moore
bridges vol. 14, July 2007 / Nanotechnology Focus
The following is an interview with Julia Moore who serves as deputy director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, established in 2005. The mission statement of this project is to "help ensure that as nanotechnologies advance, possible risks are minimized, public and consumer engagement remains strong, and the potential benefits of these new technologies are realized."
Julia Moore has long-time experience working on the Congressional, public affairs, and public policy aspects of international science, technology, and security issues. Prior to her current position, she was senior advisor in the Office of International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation and, among many positions, served for five years as director of Legislative & Public Affairs at the National Science Foundation.
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are regarded as being among the key technologies of the 21st century. They constitute a new field for science, research, and development with an enormous potential for technological progress, the development of new markets and an increase in turnover in all nano-related business areas.
Their importance can also be gauged by the increasing research expenditures worldwide: In 1998 governments all over the world spent around $600 million on research and development in nanotechnologies; in 2002, this expenditure totalled $2.1 billion; and in 2006 investments of nearly $6 billion were expected. European spending is similar to that of the US and Japan in this context (TA-SWISS 20061).
In order to promote nanosciences and nanotechnologies in Austria specifically, the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development (RFT), cognizant of the international development, recommended setting up an Austrian NANO Initiative as early as 2002. In 2004, this initiative was established as a multi-annual funding program - aiming at increased networking, creating critical masses, making nanosciences and nanotechnologies utilizable for the economy and for society, and providing an adequate number of qualified technical staff. Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are generic, covering many different scientific disciplines and fields of research. The Austrian NANO Initiative capitalizes on this variety as one of the strengths of their program, and by intensive networking of science and industry enables the development of highly innovative state-of-the-art products with new physical or chemical properties.
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are regarded as being among the key technologies of the 21st century. They constitute a new field for science, research, and development with an enormous potential for technological progress, the development of new markets and an increase in turnover in all nano-related business areas.