josh@cs.rutgers.edu (08/09/90)
Books of Note
Books are listed in order of increasing specialization and reading
challenge. Your suggestions are welcome. And remember, if a book's
price looks too high, your library should be able to get it through
interlibrary loans. --Editor
Megamistakes, by Steven P. Schnaars, Free Press (Macmillan), 1989,
cloth, $19.95. Useful examination of technology forecasting mistakes
and why they happen. Business-oriented; repetitive in spots. Fails
to support the subtitle's claim that rapid technological change is a
"myth."
Spacefarers, Voyage through the Universe series, Time-Life Books,
1989. Includes pp. 116, 117-121 on proposed uses of nanotechnology in
space, much artwork. FI member Stewart Cobb consulted on the project.
Contact 800-621-7026.
Hypertext 89 Proceedings, from the Nov. 5-8 Pittsburgh meeting,
chairman Rob Akscyn, published by Association for Computing Machinery,
paper, $30. Most concentrated source of published information (28
papers) on work being done in the field; highly recommended for those
interested in hypertext. ACM order #608891 from ACM Order Dept., PO
Box 64145, Baltimore, MD 21264.
MEMS-90, Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Micro Electro
Mechanical Systems, held Feb. 11-14 at Napa, CA, cosponsored by ASME;
$28. The "bottom-up" approach to building continues to infiltrate
this "top-down" meeting series with coverage of STM work from IBM
Watson, Stanford, University of Tokyo, and Matsusita. Most papers on
micro structures, sensors, actuators, machines, and robots. IEEE
catalog #90CH2832-4; phone 800-678-IEEE.
Molecular Electronic Devices: Proceedings of the Third International
Symposium, ed. F.L. Carter, R.E. Siatkowski, and H. Wohltjen,
Elsevier/North Holland, 1988, $152.75. Proceedings of the 1986
meeting; primarily for chemists, but does include one paper on
mechanical nanocomputers.
Wish List
The translators requested in the last issue have volunteered--see
Thanks column--but we could use more translators from Japanese to
English, especially those willing to do long pieces. The translations
usually are not time critical and can be done over a few weeks. We
would also appreciate additional volunteer help in Macintosh desktop
publishing, especially layout.
FI needs equipment, new or used: a small photocopier, two fax
machines, and a second Laserwriter printer. Note that donations of
equipment or funds are tax-deductible as charitable contributions.
If you or your company can help, call our office at 415-324-2490.
Thanks
Thanks to Nils Andersson and Walter Vannini for offering to translate
into English from German and Italian, respectively.
Journal and magazine coverage of topics of interest to Foresight is
booming, as can be told by the number of people we hereby thank for
sending in copies. Please keep sending these--we often hear of
important articles only once. Thanks to Joseph Bonaventura, Jamie
Dinkelacker, Jerry Fass, Darrell Flynn, W.C. Gaines, Stan and Kiyomi
Hutchings, Tony Johnson, Jeff MacGillivray, Joy Martin, Tom McKendree,
Leonard Micko, K.E. Nelson, Ed Niehaus, Anthony Oberley, Brian D.
Ornstedt, John Papiewski, Jack Powers, Naomi Reynolds, Howard
Rheingold, Stuart E. Scott, Alvin Steinberg, and Tihamer Toth-Fejel.
Thanks for book recommendations go to Jerry Fass and Max O'Connor.
Letters
The Foresight Institute receives hundreds of letters requesting
information and sending ideas. Herewith excerpts:
On behalf of Don Lavoie, Bill Tulloh, myself, and all of us here at
the Center for the Study of Market Processes, thanks for the publicity
you gave our conference, "Evolutionary Economics: Learning from
Computation." It made a big difference to our attendance and the
quality of discussions....The conference was a big success.
Howard Baetjer
George Mason University
See the article on the conference elsewhere in this issue. --Editor
You have expressed interest in a Soviet publication about Engines of
Creation, and before a copy of it I requested from there arrives, I'd
like to share with you some information. This was a small monthly
periodical in "Radioelectronics and Communications" series, published,
together with many other brochures, journals, books, etc. by the
Soviet Znanie ("Knowledge") Society--a very large and versatile
organization for spreading technological and scientific knowledge.
Popular and serious at the same time, the article was authored by
Alexandr Smirnov and titled "Chips, LSI Chips, VLSI Chips..." This
seemingly irrelevant title is very characteristic for today's Soviet
life, when people do have new freedoms, but have to use traditional
organizations, channels, and titles.
Pages 3-16 are devoted to a review of a number of works by V.F.
Dorfman (Soviet) on the history of evolution of shape-forming
instruments, machines, and methods, as well as his classifications of
shape-forming processes and equipment. One of the interesting
questions touched is why industrial equipment is bigger, while
building machinery is smaller, than the objects they form?
Then, from page 16 to 64, there is a serious, concise (and
un-critical) rendering of all chapters of Engines. As I understand,
the first part was to put a theoretical foundation under the reader's
understanding of the role of nanotechnology in the process of
technological evolution.
I liked the whole brochure for both the contents and style and think
that the Foresight Institute itself would hardly give a better
representation of its ideas.
...This country [USSR], despite its collapsing social structures, is
worth working with, considering its large, and mostly unknown to the
human world, pool of creative ideas, traditions of long-term and
large-scale thinking, and, still, the cheapest intellectuals on the
planet.
Alexander Chislenko
(now in Cambridge, MA)
When we receive a copy of this publication and get it translated, at
least in part, we'll publish more on the state of nanotechnology
information in the USSR. --Editor
Media and Journal Coverage
The journal Technology Analysis and Strategic Management published in
its December 1989 issue an article on the First Foresight Conference
on Nanotechnology. The December 1989 issue of Japan's Journal of
Micromachine Society covered the conference on pages 25-29 and perhaps
beyond--without a translation we can't tell where it stops. The March
1990 issue of JOM (formerly Journal of Metals) included a one-page
review of the conference by David R. Forrest, an early member of the
MIT Nanotechnology Study Group.
The May 8, 1990, issue of Newsday had a two-page article by Kathy
Woolard on nanotechnology, an unusually well-done piece and perhaps
the only newspaper article to mention the engineering problem of
thermal motion and how it is solved. Brava, Kathy.
The June 1990 issue of Ad Astra, the magazine of the National Space
Society, featured a four-page article on nanotechnology by FI member
(and early member of the MIT Nanotechnology Study Group) Stewart Cobb.
The Summer 1990 issue of the Whole Earth Review published a ten-page
writeup of pros (Drexler) and cons (Simson Garfinkel) in the technical
case for nanotechnology and a one-page summary of the First Foresight
Conference by Steven Levy.
Upcoming Events
Bootstrap Seminar, one of an ongoing series, June 19-21, Stanford
University. Led by distinguished visionary and hypertext pioneer
Douglas Engelbart. Special focus on the design requirements for an
Open Hyperdocument System. Contact 415-725-2985.
STM U90, Fifth International Conference on Scanning Tunneling
Microscopy/Spectroscopy, July 23-27, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore,
MD. Sponsored by the American Vacuum Society and the U.S. Office of
Naval Research. Contact Chairman James Murday, 202-767-3026, fax
202-404-7139.
NANO I, First International Conference on Nanometer Scale Science and
Technology, held in conjunction with STM U90 described above.
Includes investigation of fabrication and characterization of
nanometer scale phenomena in surface chemistry and physics,
solid-state physics, metrology, materials science and engineering,
biology and biomaterials, mechanics, sensors, and electronics
technology. Same contact as STM U90.
DIAC-90, Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing, July 28,
Cambridge, MA, $25-$40. Sponsored by Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility. Explores misuses of computing and how to
prevent them. Contact C. Whitcomb, 617-891-3103.
AAAI-90, National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, July
29-August 3, Boston, MA, $160-$315. Very broad coverage of AI topics.
Contact AAAI, 415-328-3123, fax 415-321-4457.
Frontiers of Supercomputing II: A National Reassessment, August, Los
Alamos National Laboratory, sponsored by NSF, DOE, NASA, DARPA, NSA,
the Supercomputing Research Center, and Los Alamos. Small strictly
invitational meeting; Ralph Merkle will speak on nanotechnology at a
session on the future computing environment.
Recent Events
Ralph Merkle has given three talks on nanotechnology recently:
California State University at Hayward (sponsored by Sigma Xi Research
Society and the School of Science) on February 8, one for
Hewlett-Packard on April 11, and a seminar for a Stanford Information
Systems Lab course on May 10.
On April 3 Eric Drexler spoke on nanotechnology as the first Iles
Memorial Lecture at Iowa State University. See elsewhere in this
issue for his report from Japan, which included talks for Research
Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo,
MITI, Sony, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Institute of Physical and
Chemical Research (RIKEN), Second Micro Machine Symposium, Japan
Society for the Promotion of Sciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture
and Technology, and the Protein Engineering Research Institute.
Mark S. Miller spoke on Agoric Open Systems at the Evolutionary
Economics meeting at George Mason University. See coverage elsewhere
in this issue.
CompuServe Access
Users of the large commercial computer networks often complain about
difficulty in reaching the nanotechnology newsgroup on Usenet, called
sci.nanotech. Russell Whitaker reports that those who have CompuServe
accounts and wish to receive and contribute sci.nanotech messages can
contact the moderator, Josh Storrs Hall, by going to the electronic
mail area and entering at the "To:" prompt this address:
>INTERNET:josh@aramis.rutgers.edu. There are a couple of other
addresses which work, and which may show up as headers on received
text. If you have questions, Russell Whitaker can be contacted
through CompuServe at 71750,2413.