Monthly Gathering—September 2005
Thinking Small
Nanotechnology is the science of the ultra-small. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, so small it takes one million to equal the diameter of a pinhead. Nanotechnology is the creation and use of objects less than 100 nanometers in scale and along with related microsystem technology, is expected to have a greater impact on our lives in the next 10 years than the Internet has had in the last 10 years. As we become able to manipulate ever smaller components, the potential for new and improved products and technologies will have no boundaries. Consider a computer the size of a cell phone, a cell phone the size of a hearing aid and a hearing aid the size of a pinhead. Advances in biotechnology will result in manmade molecules that deliver drugs directly and only to sick cells and molecular surgery to remove defective genes. It all sounds like science fiction, but the basic technology to make these and innumerable other advances possible is being developed now.
Come and learn more about this fascinating field of research and its implications for the future of technology. Join us on Saturday, September 17, when our guest will be John Bedz, director of The Michigan Small Tech Association, the state’s economic development initiative for microelectromechanical systems, micro and nanotechnology.
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