K. Eric Drexler

Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of hypothetical molecular nanotechnology.

Related Topics:
April 25 - 1955 - American - Molecular nanotechnology

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

__NOTOC__

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Drexler was strongly influenced by ideas on Limits to Growth in the early 1970s. His response in his first year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was to seek out someone who was working on extraterrestrial resources. He found Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill of Princeton University, a physicist famous for strong focusing in particle accelerators and his landmark work on the concepts of space colonization. Besides working summers for O'Neill building mass driver prototypes, he delivered papers at the first three Space Manufacturing conferences at Princeton. The 1977 and 1979 papers were co-authored with Keith Henson, and patents were issued on both subjects, vapor phase fabrication and space radiators.

Related Topics:
Limits to Growth - 1970s - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Gerard K. O'Neill - Princeton University - Particle accelerator - Space colonization - Mass driver - Space Manufacturing - 1977 - 1979 - Keith Henson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Drexler was involved in NASA summer studies in 1975 and 1976. He fabricated metal films a few tens of nanometers thick on a wax support in quest of high performance solar sails. He was active in space politics, helping the L5 Society defeat the Moon Treaty in 1980.

Related Topics:
NASA - 1975 - 1976 - Solar sail - L5 Society - Moon Treaty - 1980

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the late 1970s he developed ideas about molecular nanotechnology. In 1979 Drexler encountered Richard Feynman's provocative 1959 talk There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom. The term nanotechnology was coined by the Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi in 1974 to describe the precision manufacture of materials with nanometer tolerances, and was unkowingly appropriated by Drexler in his 1986 book ' to describe what later became known as molecular nanotechnology. In that book Drexler first published the term "gray goo" to describe what might happen if a hypothetical self-replicating molecular nanotechnology went out of control.

Related Topics:
Molecular nanotechnology - Richard Feynman - There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom - Nanotechnology - Norio Taniguchi - 1974 - 1986 - Gray goo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dr. Drexler received his bachelor's degree, master's degree, and PhD from MIT. His 1991 PhD under the auspices of the MIT Media Lab was the first doctoral degree on the topic of molecular nanotechnology and (after some editing) his thesis was published as "Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing and Computation" (1992), which received the Association of American Publishers award for Best Computer Science Book of 1992.

Related Topics:
PhD - MIT - Media Lab - 1992

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the barriers to achieving molecular nanotechnology is the lack of an efficient way to create machines on a molecular/atomic scale. One of Drexler's early ideas was an "assembler," a nanomachine which would comprise an arm and a computer that could be programmed to build more nanomachines. If an assembler could be built, it might then build a copy of itself, and, thus, be potentially useful for efficient mass production of nanomachines. But the lack of a way to first build an assembler remains the sine qua non obstacle to achieving this vision.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Drexler and Christine Peterson, at that time husband and wife, founded the Foresight Institute in 1986 with the mission of "Preparing for nanotechnology: Foresight Institute's goal is to guide emerging technologies to improve the human condition. Foresight focuses its efforts upon nanotechnology, the coming ability to build materials and products with atomic precision, and upon systems that will enhance knowledge exchange and critical discussion, thus improving public and private policy decisions."http://web.archive.org/web/20030202040207/http://www.foresight.org/index.html In 2005 the Foresight Institute changed its mission: "Foresight?s new mission is to ensure the beneficial implementation of nanotechnology. Foresight is accomplishing this by providing balanced, accurate and timely information to help society understand and utilize nanotechnology through public policy activities, publications, guidelines, networking events, tutorials, conferences, roadmaps and prizes."http://www.foresight.org

Related Topics:
Christine Peterson - Foresight Institute - 1986

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Drexler and Peterson ended their 21-year marriage in 2003.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In August 2005 Drexler joined Nanorex, a molecular engineering software company based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, to serve as the company's Chief Technical Advisor.http://www.nanoengineer-1.com/mambo/http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2009. Nanorex's nanoENGINEER-1 software was reportedly able to simulate the hypothetical Drexler-Merkle Differential Gear design in "a snap".

Related Topics:
Nanorex - Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~