merkle@parc.xerox.com (Ralph Merkle) (04/04/91)
S E M I N A R A N N O U N C E M E N T
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DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS COLLOQUIUM SERIES ON:
PARALLEL COMPUTING IN THE 90's
Hosted by the Parallel Systems Division of RIACS
a n d
the NAS Systems Division of NASA Ames Research Center
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SPEAKER: ERIC DREXLER
President, Foresight Institute
TOPIC: NANOCOMPUTERS AND MOLECULAR ENGINEERING
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1991
TIME: 10:30 AM
LOCATION: Building N258, Room 127
ABSTRACT: Advances in molecular technologies and atomic force
microscopy are opening a path toward more advanced control of matter
at a molecular level, leading ultimately to the development of
molecular manufacturing systems able to build complex objects to
atomic specifications. This dramatic expansion of fabrication
capabilities will enable the construction of nanocomputers with parts
of molecular size. Mechanical nanocomputers -- molecular Babbage
machines -- are amenable to design and analysis with available
techniques: this technology promises to yield sub-micron computers
with gigahertz clock rates, nanowatt power dissipation, and RAM
storage densities in the tens of millions of terabytes per cubic
centimeter. Parallel systems built from such computers will be capable
of some 10^15 MIPS. *(NOTE: 10^15 is ten to the fifteenth).
N O T E O N S P E A K E R :
_________________________________
ERIC DREXLER is a researcher concerned with emerging technologies and
their consequences for the future. He originated the field of nanotech-
nology -- a technology which will give us total control of the structure
of matter. He has written a series of technical papers on nanotechnology
and a book, Engines of Creation (Doubleday 1986), that describes the pros-
pect ahead and strategies for dealing with them. He recently taught (at
Stanford University) the first formal course on nanotechnology and explor-
atory engineering, and has lectured and consulted on topics ranging from
space development to hypertext publishing. Formerly a Research Affiliate
of the MIT Space Systems Laboratory and the MIT Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory, he is currently a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University.
He serves as President of the Foresight Institute, a nonprofit educational
organization founded to help prepare for advanced technologies.
POINT OF CONTACT: Evangeline Tanner (et@riacs.edu) 415/604-4877
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