10:00 PM (back in NYC)
Let me wrap up my coverage of this year's event at MIT with a few general observations...
Overall, I was disappointed that an Emerging Technologies Conference included scant information about emerging technologies. We heard a lot about mature technologies and growing technologies, but little about the cutting edge.
One notable exception was the "$1,000 Human Genome" session, which featured an impressive presentation by Harvard physics professor Jene Golovchenko, whom I later learned is the PhD advisor for my niece, MaryBeth Hughes. MaryBeth, by the way, has just submitted her first lead-authored scientific paper for publication. It's titled "Optical Absorption of DNA-Carbon Nanotube Structures" -- way to go, MB!
The most important session, unquestionably, was the one on "Innovation and the Energy Crisis". With the possible exception of a nano-enabled arms race, the issue of near-term extreme global climate change is the most important question facing humanity. Since we have known about this issue for more than two decades and still have done almost nothing about it, and since the clock is ticking and we may have as liittle as 20 years to radically alter our worldwide energy production and usage paradigms, it's quite easy to be pessimistic.
Some say that molecular manufacturing (MM) will be the magic answer to global warming. But technology does not solve problems by itself. In fact, technology, in the hands of humans, often makes problems worse. Science and technology can give us valuable new tools to deal with our problems, but it is only through human-implemented solutions that those problems actually can be addressed. The greatest challenges are social and political.
Climate change is our biggest present problem; MM may be the only technology that can provide sufficiently powerful tools to combat it; but even if MM is developed in time, we are still far -- very far -- from having workable plans that humans can use to implement the technology safely and responsibly.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog tretc
Here is the 243 page pdf of the Us government (dept of energy) strategic technology plan
My site has some highlights from it
the list of actual funded programs for 2006 and 2007 is in the appendix.
They like the advanced burner reactor to control nuclear waste, carbon sequestering, emission control at source and emission reduction for end use.
I like More efficient and productive nuclear plants just from shaping the uranium into cylinders instead of rods and altering the water for better heat removal. A quick 160 GW global boost in climate clean power I also like better solar and wind, carbon sequestering, thorium reactors, 200+mpg hybrid diesel/fuel cell/ultraconductor cars, space based power using magnetically inflated cable, man made volcano effects, space solar shields, more energy efficiency in the power grid, lighting and home heating.
Of course molecular nanotech, DNA nanotech, superconductors and reversible computing.
Full speed ahead to more sustainable technology and use technology to mitigate the changes in the meantime (fake volcanoes etc...)
Posted by: Brian Wang | September 29, 2006 at 09:30 AM