Nanotech gaining notice little by little
Perry, TI's Templeton unveil $30 million investment at UT
September 28, 2006
By Victor Godinez / The Dallas Morning News
Nanotechnology may eventually make as big a splash with the public as it has with the scientific and corporate sectors.
With nanotech expected to become a $2.6 trillion industry within eight years, backers of the technology opened the doors to the nanoTX '06 conference Wednesday in Dallas.
Speakers such as Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Instruments Inc. chief executive Rich Templeton and billionaire Ross Perot all highlighted the growing influence of nanotech on the local economy.
"I have become a very firm believer in what nanotechnology can do to revolutionize our economy and literally the world we live in," Mr. Perry said during his speech.
Products using nano materials were on display at the show — such as a Corvette with nanotechnology in its tires and a yacht with nanotech in its hull — and Mr. Perry and Mr. Templeton announced a $30 million investment in a new nano research facility based at the University of Texas at Austin.
But few people know much about nanotech, the science of molecular-scale manufacturing.
According to a report earlier this month by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 42 percent of Americans have never heard of nanotechnology, and just one in 10 say they've heard a lot about it.
"The reason that it's so important is that nanotechnology is going to affect everyone's life and every aspect of everyone's life," said Julia Moore, deputy director of the project.
Nanotube fibers are separated from a “black forest” to demonstrate the size and flexibility of the tubes. "It's going to impact your medical care, your sources of energy, lots of different parts of transportation," she said. "It's already a big part of the computer and information technology industries. There's virtually no place that nano won't go."
The group has a list on its Web site of 300 consumer products already using nano materials in some form — everything from food to sporting goods equipment to computer chips.
Expanding consumer awareness of nanotech is the responsibility of government, industry and academe, Ms. Moore said. All three elements are cooperating on the nano research center in Austin.
Texas Instruments, along with several other technology firms, the state government and the University of Texas System are providing money to hire researchers for the Southwest Academy of Nanoelectronics, or SWAN.
Dallas-based Texas Instruments is the largest corporate investor, with $5 million.
The University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas will also participate.
The Nanoelectronics Research Corp. and the state's Emerging Technology Fund will also contribute nearly $3 million for equipment, facilities and other costs.
Phil Ritter, TI's senior vice president of public affairs, said SWAN will pursue two goals.
The first will be to address Moore's Law, which says that the number of transistors on a chip roughly doubles every 18 months, creating more powerful chips.
But hardware makers can't shrink those transistors for much longer with current technology.
"When we need to start making circuits that are even smaller than what we can make on silicon, how can we do that?" Mr. Ritter asked. "That's the first challenge."
The other goal of the program is to develop near-term practical applications for nanoelectronics in fields such as defense, energy, agriculture and health care.
Mr. Templeton said in his speech that Texas doesn't have any time to lose if it wants to take the lead in nanotech research and commercialization.
"There are other states and other nations that understand this opportunity that is front of them when it comes to nanotechnology," he said. |
