From The Scientist, August 23, 2004
EU nanotech network launched
5 million euro EC grant brings together 12 institutes to encourage collaboration | By Charles Q Choi
http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20040823/01
"Nanotechnology to Supercharge Internet"
EurekAlert (08/11/04)
In a study published in the Aug. 11 edition of Nano Letters, University of Toronto professor Ted Sargent and associates report that nanotechnology can set the foundations for a supercharged, light-based Internet that is 100 times faster than current networks. Sargent notes that up to now, molecular materials employed to switch light signals with light have not been as strong as basic physics states they could be. "With this work, the ultimate capacity to process information-bearing signals using light is within our practical grasp," he proclaims. The project involves the blending of "buckyball" carbon molecules and an engineered polymer into a hybrid film that allows photons to pick up each other's patterns, a challenge met by Carleton University researchers Wayne Wang and Connie Kuang. Sargent and U of T associate Qiying Chen have analyzed the material's optical properties, and concluded that the substance can process information carried at communications wavelengths. The hybrid material demonstrates a new type of substance that can support the engineering requirements of future fiber-optic communications systems that boast picosecond switching times, according to Sargent. Washington State University physicist Mark Kuzyk, who outlined the failure of real molecular materials to reach their theoretical potential, declares, "This intelligent nanoscale approach to engineering nonlinear-optical materials, which is guided by principles of quantum physics, is the birth of a new and significant materials development paradigm in synthetic research."
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"Nanotech Funding to Grow to $8.6 Billion"
CNet (08/15/04); Kanellos, Michael
This year's global nanotechnology research and development budget is estimated at $8.6 billion, and the private sector's segment of that funding is growing. Lux Research's annual state of the industry report finds that nanotech R&D spending will more than double from 2003's total of $3 billion; $4.6 billion will come from governments while corporations will contribute $3.8 billion. Approximately 1,500 firms have announced nanotech R&D plans, although venture investing in nanotech start-ups is expected to fall from $325 million last year to $200 million this year. Lux reports that the United States is pouring the most money into nanotech, with local U.S. governments expected to constitute 35 percent of the global public sector's total--about $1.6 billion--while Asia will invest $1.6 billion and Europe $1.3 billion. Forty-six percent of the global private sector's $3.8 billion investment will come from U.S. companies, while Asian and European companies will account for 36 percent and 17 percent, respectively. U.S. entities own 64 percent of the approximately 89,000 nanotech patents registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1976. "We expect 2004 to be the last year that governments outspend corporations on nanotechnology," declared Lux Research managing director F. Mark Modzelewski. Nanomaterials used in products such as stain-resistant pants are expected to remain symbolic of the nanotech market, although the electronics industry could soon receive a boost thanks to successful demonstrations of nanoscale electronics fabrication techniques.
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Randy Reichardt, engineering librarian at the University of Alberta, maintains a selective list of web sites on nanotechnology as part of a guide to his library's resources on the topic.
AZoNano.com is a freely available source of information on nanotechnology for the science, engineering and design communities worldwide. The site offers links to current research, applications, industries, and conferences.
"Nano, Bio Converge to Provide Key Nanotech Link"
Small Times (08/06/04); Pescovitz, David
"Academic researchers are investigating new technologies and systems that can be created through the convergence of biology and nanotechnology. The goal of MIT's Synthetic Biology Working Group is to create a repository of compatible genetic components with specific uses that can be assembled into new complex systems; another way of describing synthetic biology is the rewiring of "genetic circuits" to build novel biological devices..."