Wednesday, 5 June 2013

A Short History of Nanotechnology

1959
Feynman gives after-dinner talk describing molecular machines building with atomic precision

1974
Taniguchi uses term "nano-technology" in paper on ion-sputter machining

1977
Drexler originates molecular nanotechnology concepts at MIT

1981
First technical paper on molecular engineering to build with atomic precision
STM invented

1985
Buckyball discovered

1986
First book published
AFM invented
First organization formed





1991
Japan''s MITI announces bottom-up "atom factory"
IBM endorses bottom-up path
Japan's MITI commits $200 million
Carbon nanotube discovered


1993
First Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for modeling a hydrogen abstraction tool useful in nanotechnology
First coverage of nanotech from White House
"Engines of Creation" book given to Rice administration, stimulating first university nanotech center


1995
First think tank report
First industry analysis of military applications
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for synthesis of complex three-dimensional structures with DNA molecules


1997
First company founded: Zyvex
First design of nanorobotic system
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for work in computational nanotechnology and using scanning probe microscopes to manipulate molecules

1998
First NSF forum, held in conjunction with Foresight Conference
First DNA-based nanomechanical device
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for computational modeling of molecular tools for atomically-precise chemical reactions and for building molecular structures through the use of self-organization

1999
First Nanomedicine book published
First safety guidelines
Congressional hearings on proposed National Nanotechnology Initiative
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for development of carbon nanotubes for potential computing device applications and for modeling the operation of molecular machine designs

2000
President Clinton announces U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative
First state research initiative: $100 million in California
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for computational materials science for nanostructures and for building a molecular switch

2001
First report on nanotech industry
U.S. announces first center for military applications
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for theory of nanometer-scale electronic devices and for synthesis and characterization of carbon nanotubes and nanowires

2002
First nanotech industry conference
Regional nanotech efforts multiply
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for using DNA to enable the self-assembly of new structures and for advancing our ability to model molecular machine systems

2003
Congressional hearings on societal implications
Call for balancing NNI research portfolio
Drexler/Smalley debate is published in Chemical & Engineering News
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for modeling the molecular and electronic structures of new materials and for integrating single molecule biological motors with nano-scale silicon devices

2004
First policy conference on advanced nanotech
First center for nanomechanical systems
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for designing stable protein structures and for constructing a novel enzyme with an altered function

2005
At Nanoethics meeting, Roco announces nanomachine/nanosystem project count has reached 300
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for for designing a wide variety of single molecular functional nanomachines and for synthesizing macromolecules of intermediate sizes with designed shapes and functions

2006
National Academies nanotechnology report calls for experimentation toward molecular manufacturing
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for work in molecular computation and algorithmic self-assembly, and for producing complex two-dimensional arrays of DNA nanostructures

2007
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for construction of molecular machine systems that function in the realm of Brownian motion, and molecular machines based upon two-state mechanically interlocked compounds

2008
Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems released
Protein catalysts designed for non-natural chemical reactions
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for work in molecular electronics and the synthesis of molecular motors and nanocars, and for theoretical contributions to nanofabrication and sensing


2010
DNA-based 'robotic' assembly begins
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded for work in single atom manipulations and atomic switches, and for development of quantum mechanical methods for theoretical predictions of molecules and solids

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