Technology is always becoming
smaller. The old mainframe computers that took up entire
rooms have been replaced by units that get tinier all the time.
Nanotechnology is the logical extreme of this notion. Scientists and
futurists believe that we'll eventually be able to send machines no larger
than a few molecules into the human body to eradicate cancer, wipe out
diseases, and prolong life. But is nanotechnology a reality on the horizon
or just a science-fiction dream?
Talk
of the Nation, November 2, 2004 · So
many Americans say this is a decisive moment in our political history.
But what about other endeavors? From military history to science and
culture, how do we know what's really historic -- and what's not?
We discuss how to define the moment.
Guests:
Victory Davis Hanson, military historian, senior
fellow at the Hoover Institution; retired classics professor, CaliforniaStateUniversity
in Fresno
Michael Eric Dyson, professor of Africana Studies
at the University of Pennsylvania;
author, Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X and I May
Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr.
Jean BethkeElshtain, author, Just War Against Terror : The
Burden of American Power in a Violent World; University
of Chicago ethics professor
Ray Kurzweil, scientist,
futurist; author of Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough To Live Forever
3
2004
– Aug. 27
MILT
ROSENBERG – Extension 720
A
panel of two expert nanotechnologists describe the science of all
things small and how it is changing our world, from revolutionizing medicine
to developing more effective means of counter-terrorism tools. Our guests are
Milan Mrksich of the University of Chicago and Marya Lieberman of the University of Notre Dame. (08/27/04)
On this archive edition of
Weekday, Steve Scher discusses the nature versus
nurture debate with Dr. Stephen Pinker, and we learn about the emerging
science of Nanotechnology.
Nano-technology
Richard Van Duyne - Professor of Chemistry at
Northwestern University
Heinrich Jaeger - Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago
What technology revolution is found in things that are less than one-billionth of a
meter? We explore nanoscience and nanotechnology on
Weekday.
Scientists are looking at the world in a whole new
way - through the lens of nanoscience.
Nanotechnology is changing the way materials and devices will
be produced in the future. Nanostructures, ceramics, polymers, metals,
and other materials will offer improved mechanical properties. Scientists
hope there will be the ability to build things atom-by-atom and
molecule-by-molecule, creating a class of materials.
Guests: Dr. Viola Vogel is director of the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Washington Don Baer is the deputy manager for the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory's Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Initiative
Talk of the
Nation, March
17, 2000 · This week, a
leading computer technologist sounded a warning for his colleagues
and the public to consider the unintended consequences of 21st-century
technologies--particularly robotics, genetics, and nanotechnology.
In this hour, we'll talk about the quest for intelligent machines,
how our relationship to computers is changing, and whether computers
could ever threaten human existence. Guests: Bill Joy Co-founder and
Chief Scientist Sun Microsystems Aspen, Colorado Ray Kurzweil
Author, The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human
Intelligence (Penguin Books, 2000) President Kurzweil
Technologies Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts Sherry Turkle
Author, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet
(Simon and Schuster, 1995) Professor, Sociology of Science Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts