Our nano-future: What’s hype, what’s not

Many believe that nanotechnology, recently popularized in the press, is an over-hyped, perhaps even irrelevant term. Others hold out a seemingly impossible vision: nanobots trolling our bloodstream, bioengineered humans with machine-like capabilities, products spontaneously self-assembled, etc. Who is right and why does it matter?

This talk will describe one firm's view on what our nano-future holds - where opportunities lay and what potential pitfalls still loom ahead. It is predicated on two fundamental advances - the development of the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and recent breakthroughs in understanding of the human genome - and what these two advances have and may unleash. Together we will explore these breakthroughs and discuss examples of how nanotech has already begun to seep into the fabric of our economy and our collective future.