Publications
Books and Journals
Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature | David S. Goodsell. This book shows how the lessons that may be learned from biology can be applied to nanotechnology today. The first part of the book explores the properties of nanomachines that are available in cells. The second looks to the structure and function of natural nanomachines for guidance in building nanomachinery. The book then concludes with chapters on applications, surveying some of the exciting bionanotechnological tools and techniques that are currently in development, and speculating on those that may prove feasible in the not-too-distant future.
Designing the Molecular World | Philip Ball. An excellent writer for the journal Nature showcases the excitement of chemistry by departing from the standard subdivisions of science and emphasizing integration.
Engines of Creation : The Coming Era of Nanotechnology | Eric Drexler. This brilliant work heralds the new age of nanotechnology, which will give us thorough and inexpensive control of the structure of matter. Drexler examines the enormous implications of these developments for medicine, the economy, and the environment, and makes astounding yet well-founded projections for the future.
Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms | Wil McCarthy. McCarthy utilizes his expertise to take us on a tour of research labs at Universities such as MIT and Harvard and expanding the conversations with the scientists working with programmable matter, namely Quantum Dots. He keeps the scientific explanations of this new and expanding field simple enough for the lay person and elaborates on the direction and usage of the research in the future.
Introduction to Nanotechnology | Charles P. Poole & Frank J. Owens. An overview of nanotechnology and its applications.
Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines | Robert A. Freitas & Ralph C. Merkle. The book contains an exhaustive history of self-replicating machines, including von Neumann's studies and information-based replicators like computer viruses, proposals for self-replicating factories and actual achievements of self-replicating devices, and a complete discussion of proposals for microscale replicators which includes a description (for context) of the many ways biology replicates.
Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century | Philip Ball. Ball's narrative covers both the history of materials science, and the future and its possibilities. He's particularly good at the historical story, and at drawing parallels betwene natural and artifial structures. As in Ball's other popular works on science, "Made to Measure" is approachable without being trivial, and rigorous in its attention to detail without becoming numbingly pedantic.
Nanoarchitecture: A New Species of Architecture | John Johansen. Architect John Johansen properly identifies nanotechnology as the dawn of a new epoch. However, this is a slim volume with little information on nanotechnology and its relevance to design. Of the 159 pages, only a couple of dozen pages contain text. One senses that the large typeface is an attempt to create more mass than substance. Johansen’s five-paragraph preface, in which he calls fiberglass boat hulls a radical field of technology, is predominantly a summary of his own achievements. Lippert’s introduction also focuses on Johansen’s long career and surveys his architectural projects, rather than providing a commentary on Johansen’s message that “a new species of architecture is evolving”. Johansen’s built work evaporated after the early 1980s; what followed is a series of design speculations, mostly from the 80s and 90s, which are the ten projects that are presented in the body of the book. The majority of the book is filled with images of crude models made from plastic bottles and figures, with a brief introduction to each project. Although molecular nanotechnology isn’t mentioned until page 151, Johansen does a good job of identifying some key thinkers in nanotechnology. The book is filled with quotes from some of these authorities, but you won’t find any references, footnotes, a bibliography, or resources. Not surprisingly, all of these innovators are associated with the Foresight Institute, which seems to be Johansen’s only source for information. This is lazy research; Johansen’s sources are limited and his understanding of nanotechnology is inadequate. The book is opportunistic and benefits from increasing interest in nanotechnology, but it is also a dangerously uninformed book. Still, we must list it as it's a beginning.
Nanoethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Nanotechnology | Examining the impact of nanotechnology on society, this book offers incisive essays on the potential risks and rewards of applications of nanotechnology. It is written by both proponents and critics of this burgeoning technology. Following an introduction to nanotechnology and nanoethics, the book delves into the near-, mid-, and far-term issues related to current and future applications of nantechnology.
Nanofuture: What's Next For Nanotechnology | J. Storrs Hall. A leading nanotechnology researcher, Hall offers this popularization of the subject, covering the physical principles of engineering at the atomic scale, possible applications of nanomachines, and their potential alteration of human society. Before overreacting to that last prospect, readers would benefit from learning how a nano-sized gadget is built, which Hall explains clearly with references to chemical bonds, the van der Waals force, and quantum mechanical behavior. What to build comes next.
Nanoscopic Materials : Size-Dependent Phenomena | Edited by Emil Roduner. The aim of this book is to present an overview of phenomena that are strongly modified at the nanometer length scale, where the properties of nanoscale structures progressively differ from the bulk. For each chapter, as well as a series of bullet points presented as a take-home message, there is also a list of several other sources of general information.
Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation | K. Eric Drexler. For years, Drexler has stirred controversy by declaring that molecular nanotechnology will bring a sweeping technological revolution — delivering tremendous advances in miniaturization, materials, computers, and manufacturing of all kinds. Now, he’s written a detailed, top-to-bottom analysis of molecular machinery — how to design it, how to analyze it, and how to build it. Nanosystems is the first scientifically detailed description of developments that will revolutionize most of the industrial processes and products currently in use. This groundbreaking work draws on physics and chemistry to establish basic concepts and analytical tools.
Nanotechnology : Science, Innovation, and Opportunity | Lynn E. Foster. Suddenly, nanotechnology isn't science fiction or mere theory: It's becoming one of the world's fastest-growing, highest-impact industries. In Nanotechnology: Science, Innovation, and Opportunity, the field's leading experts offer an up-to-the-minute briefing on where the industry stands now, how it will unfold over the coming decade, and how it will impact you.
Nanotechnology for Green Building | Dr. George Elvin. The objective of this report is to provide an overview of current, and near future, applications for nanotech in green building. Part One maps the convergence of green building practices and nanotechnology. Part Two reviews material technologies: insulation, coatings, adhesives, lighting, energy generation and storage, air and water purifiers, and structural/non-structural composites. Part Three posits the benefits of nanotechnology in construction, including a small section on market forces and speculations on future trends and needs.
Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea | Mark Ratner & Daniel Ratner. Nanotech pioneer Mark Ratner and technology entrepreneur Daniel Ratner show you how nanotech works, why it's so exciting, what's new, and what's next. They survey the entire field-technology and business-covering nanobots, molecular electronics, quantum computing, biostructures, nanotubes, molecular motors, nanosensors, and many other breakthrough applications. They provide easy-to-understand explanations of every key concept, plus dozens of visuals that bring nanotechnology to life.
Nanotechnology: Basic Science and Emerging Technologies | Mick Wilson. This book bridges the gap between detailed technical publications that are beyond the grasp of nonspecialists and popular science books, which may read more like science fiction than fact. After a basic introduction to the field, the authors explore topics that include molecular nanotechnology, nanomaterials and nanopowders, nanoelectronics, optics and photonics, and nanobiometrics. The book concludes with a look at some cutting-edge applications and prophecies for the future.
Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Our World | Douglas Mulhall. When Mulhall sees the future, he pictures every home having a virtually cost-free desktop fabricator, not unlike an ink jet printer, that is able to create any three-dimensional object desired; he envisions being able to change the color of a car, or clothes, simply by speaking. Mulhall, who heads an environmental software consultancy, believes that nanotechnology, the ability to rearrange individual atoms, will lead to technological advances that will change every aspect of our world, including our own species.
Perfect Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman | Edited by Michelle Feynman, this book brings together previously unpublished letters by the originator of thinking small, organized more or less chronologically. The early letters, mostly sent to Feynman’s convalescent wife Arline, carry an Albuquerque postmark. It was there that the twenty-four-year-old Feynman, fresh out of graduate school, was working on the atomic bomb. The bulk of the material comes from Feynman’s days at Cal Tech.
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter | Richard P. Feynman. Feynman's lectures must have been marvelous and they have been turned into an equally entrancing book, a vivid introduction to QED which is leavened and enlivened by his wit. Anyone with a curiosity about physics today should buy it, not only to get to grips with the deepest meaning of quantum theory but to possess a slice of history.
Quantum Electrodynamics | Richard Phillips Feynman. This book collects a set of lectures by Feynman on quantum electrodynamics and a few reprints of his papers on the subject. It was written for Feynman's peers. Each topic was solidly grounded on the basis of specific arguments. This is how things are done.
Self Assembly : The Science of Things That Put Themselves Together | John A. Pelesko. This fully-illustrated book describes how self-assembly is achieved in nature, explaining key concepts, patterns, and structures. Man-made systems are then discussed, giving simple instructions which enable students to build simpler structures. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter and a website address is added which links to videos of the experiments and to the researchers profiled in the text.
Smart Materials | Axel Ritter. The use of smart materials in architecture is a dynamic and innovative area merging research, development, and use. Smart materials, with their reversible characteristics, respond to stimuli such as light, temperature, and electrical field by changing their form, their color, their viscosity, etc. These materials make it possible, for example, to develop self-acting, kinetic facades and wallpaper that changes its colour and pattern based on temperature and light. This book presents the development of these materials and also describes their use in the contexts of architecture, design, and art. It offers a systematic overview with a detailed discussion of properties, technologies, products, and projects based on dozens of examples.
Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology | Edited by Bharat Bhushan. Handbook provides practical information on the fundamentals and applications of Nanotechnology, presented in a structured two-color layout. Topics include nanostructures, nanomechanics, MEMS/NEMS materials and devices, molecular technology, industrial applications, and more.
The Nanotech Pioneers - Where are they taking us? | Steven Edwards. Hype, hope, or horror? A vivid look at nanotechnology, written by an insider and experienced science writer.
The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology is Going to Change the Future of Your Business | Jack Uldrich & Deb Newberry. Uldrich and Newberry compare November 9, 1989, with the day the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. This was the day two IBM scientists coaxed individual atoms to build a structure, the IBM logo. As a result, nanotechnology, the science of manipulating material at the atomic level, was born.
The Next Fifty Years : Science in the First Half of the Twenty-first Century | Edited by John Brockman. Containing twenty-five essays written by leading scientists, ethicists, technologists and industrialists, this book discussess what life might be like in 2050.
The Organic Approach to Architecture | Deborah Gans & Zehra Kuz. This book resulted from a conference at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture. The structure of the book, like the conference, has three sections that feature practitioners, theorists, and historians from the fields of architecture, biology, engineering, mathematics, critical theory, and computer graphics. This broad range of contributors is one of the strengths of the book although, as implied in the editorial statement “it remains to be seen whether the organic approach will act as a catalyst of change”, the book lacks a conclusive statement. We applaud the clear organization of this book. The first section examines the term ‘organic’ and considers the scope of its use in architecture. The second part addresses tectonic ideas and technologies (material, structural, environmental, and digital) as means. The final segment considered factors that contextualize organic architecture. The book returns to advancements in nanotechnology a number of times and it is in the last two sections that John Johansen marginally improves upon ideas that were offered in his book, Nanoarchitecture, published in 2002. Interestingly, many of the themes in this book complement issues surrounding the emerging implications of nanotechnology. Haresh Lalvani’s belief that organic architecture will evolve from biomimicry to self-perpetuating, living biological organism is one example.
Understanding Nanotechnology | Editors at Scientific American. The book presents the cutting edge of a new technology that will find usage in medicine, space exploration, communications, manufacturing, and almost every other aspect of modern society. Imagine getting an injection of "smart" molecules that can seek out cancer cells and destroy them without harming any of the surrounding tissue. Imagine a simultaneous space launch via the Shuttle of thousands of robotic probes, each no bigger than an insect, and each programmed to do a single task in concert with all of the others. And that's just the beginning.
What is What in the Nanoworld : A Handbook on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology | Victor E. Borisenko & Stefano Ossicini. A quick overview about different interesting phenomena and peculiarities observed in nanostructures.