At the end of September, the Foresight Institute announced the Richard Feynman Prizes for Nanotechnology. The Feynman Communications Prize was awared to J. Storrs Hall for his book “Nanofuture: What’s Next For Nanotechnology” which explains the impact of molecular nanotechnology in a clear and reader-friendly way. Storrs Hall is also recognised as the inventor of utility fog.
I have been using the concept of utility fog to investigate the impacts of molecular manufacturing technologies on society in workshops conducted for school and government groups. I will be summarising the workshop at the AusForesight Conference during the public session called ‘Futures Spotting’ on Sunday 22 October at Swinburne University. ‘Futures Spotting’ aims to showcase the foresight profession to the public and provide some insight into the myriad of applications for futures work in education and business. Attendance is free, but you do need to register.
Oliver | 20-Oct-06 at 5:14 pm | Permalink
This is an admirable initiative.
Nanotech has the potential to transform our economy, society and human well-being, to a far greater extent than all the inventions since the steam engine.
Perhaps material scientists (once differentiated also into metallurgists and industrial chemists) will become the next ‘nerds’ to become tech-billionaires. School-leavers take note.
Keep up the good work.
Kristin Alford | 26-Oct-06 at 11:08 am | Permalink
Thanks for your comments Oliver. The session on Sunday resulted in plenty of dicussion. I think people left with a little more knowledge about nanotechnology, and a little more knowledge about how to consider the potentially positive and negative effects of technology on society.
Blog @ NanoVic - Is creativity worth anything? | 16-Nov-06 at 5:13 pm | Permalink
[…] She also said that creative outputs have both economic and emotional impacts. I think that often the emotional impact of business products is underestimated. This is part of the reason that NanoVic finds interesting ways of engaging the broader community in nanotechnology. Examples include utility fog workshops, art prizes, television and podcasts. And this blog! […]