PRESS RELEASE: OCTOBER 5, 2006
Nanotechnology’s Radical Future Discussed in Australia and New Zealand
Disruptive change triggered by nanotechnology was on the agenda for a recent
three-week speaking tour of Australia and New Zealand conducted by Mike Treder,
executive director of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN). Between
September 2 and September 21, he gave public lectures and held small group
discussions on the subject of ‘Disruptive Abundance: Nanotechnology and Human
Life’ in twelve cities. “We had big audiences everywhere I went -- overflow in
some places,” said Treder. “People were very interested to hear about the
profound impacts that advanced nanotechnology will bring to society.”
Treder gave public presentations at the Australian National University in
Canberra, the capital city of Australia, and at the University of Western
Sydney. He also held seminars with university students and faculty in both
locations. In Canberra, Treder met with Australian government officials to
discuss that country’s plans for a national nanotechnology strategy. In
Melbourne, he made a presentation to a group of scientists and researchers from
Monash University and from Nanotechnology Victoria, the organization that
sponsored his visit to Australia.
An article
published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said, “Within 15 years,
desktop nanofactories could pump out anything from a new car to a novel
nanoweapon, says a technology commentator… While molecular manufacturing is not
yet a reality, Treder says researchers are already working on building
molecular-scale machines that could eventually move atoms around to make
products.”
Public lectures were given in nine New Zealand cities by Treder just prior to
his arrival in Australia. He was the featured speaker in the annual Pickering
Lecture Tour, presented by the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand
(IPENZ). “Mike's presentations generated a lot of interest in the future impact
of nanotechnology across the country,” said IPENZ’s Kathryn McGavin.
Progress in nanotechnology eventually will make it possible to build a wide
range of products atom by atom, from the bottom up, using nature’s fundamental
building blocks, according to Treder. This will result in a manufacturing
revolution, offering the potential for huge gains in quality of life, reductions
in poverty, clean energy production, vastly improved infrastructures for
computing, communication, transportation, and more. However, it also could lead
to severe economic disruption, conflicts over intellectual property, omnipresent
surveillance, and a potential widening of the gap between rich and poor. Even
more ominous is the possibility of a new arms race.
“No one knows for sure how soon all this will happen,” said Treder. “But our
analysis suggests it will be sooner than most people realize. The cost of not
being prepared for such disruptive change could be catastrophic. It’s urgent
that we invest more in understanding the impacts of this powerful new
technology.”
Mike Treder is available for other speaking
opportunities, as is Chris Phoenix, Director of
Research at the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.
