National Science Foundation's Mihail Roco to speak about nanoscience and technology April 11 at Laboratory

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (00-048)

Recent News Los Alamos scientist named Asian American Engineer of the Year Los Alamos scientist featured in NASA science update Los Alamos muon detector could thwart nuclear smugglers Wojciech H. Zurek named Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholar Four Los Alamos physicists honored by American Physical Society Los Alamos National Laboratory organizations earn seven out of 13 NNSA Pollution Prevention awards Carter Hydrick returns to the Bradbury Science Museum Feb. 15 Laboratory supports summer science program New NASA IBEX mission to carry Los Alamos instrument Beason takes top threat reduction post at Los Alamos

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., April 6, 2000 -- It has been called by some the next century's Industrial Revolution. Nanoscience, a revolution in scientific research and development, could lead to machines and computers as small as molecules and materials far stronger than anything that exists today.

On April 11, Mihail Roco of the National Science Foundation, and chairperson of the President's National Science and Technology Council's Interagency Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology working group, will speak at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory about recent advancements in nanoscience. The Director's Colloquium begins at 1:10 p.m. in the Physics Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3 and is open to the public.

Roco also will tour several Laboratory facilities and learn about nanoscience research at Los Alamos.

Nanoscience is the ability to work at the atomic and molecular levels to create novel and significantly improved devices and systems.

The prefix nano refers to one-billionth of something, be it a measurement of size or time. Hence, a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter and a nanosecond is one-billionth of one second.

To put one billionth in perspective, consider that a single strand of human hair is 75 to 100 micrometers wide. By contrast, 75 to 100 nanometers is 1,000 times smaller. One nanometer is 100,000 times smaller than the width of that same strand of hair. Yet this is the scale at which scientists are designing new materials and devices.

"Nanoscale science and technology are ushering in a new realm of invention for the 21st century. Our classic image of inventors recalls individuals like Leonardo da Vinci who conceived of flying machines and self-propelled vehicles, James Watt who created the steam engine, or Thomas Edison, who perhaps more than anyone personifies our notion of the inventive genius," said Terry Lowe, Los Alamos' Materials Science and Technology Division deputy director.

"In contrast, nanoscience and technology involves multidisciplinary teams and will be dominated by 'quantum mechanical engineers' and physicists working alongside biologists and geneticists. The contrast is so great that it will result in a new Industrial Revolution. As we further develop the theory, tools, and techniques to manipulate matter at the nanoscale, we are opening a seemingly endless horizon of opportunities for innovation," said Lowe.

"Nanoscience and national laboratories share the common characteristic of integrating multiple technical disciplines to achieve significant advances or goals," Lowe continued. "Nanoscience is implicitly transdisciplinary, integrating physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and other disciplines around phenomena that occur at the 1 to 100 nanometer size scale."

Lowe noted that Los Alamos scientists and researchers are engaged in a number of nanoscience activities, ranging from nanoscale materials and chemistry to theory and modeling, bioscience, nanoscale sensors and devices, synthesis and fabrication.

The Laboratory also is encouraging cross-disciplinary research in nanoscience and technology. One example, Lowe said is Los Alamos' Biosciences Division, which hosts a Bio/Physical Sciences Forum that engages scientists with diverse backgrounds from all parts of the Laboratory in presentations and discussions, particularly in the nanosciences area.

Los Alamos and other institutions also recently collaborated at a nanoscience and technology forum that brought together researchers from academia, the military and other Department of Energy sites.

Roco is credited with 13 inventions, has written 250 articles and has coauthored several books and manuals, including "Nanostructure Science and Technology" last year. He has received numerous awards and recognitions from scientific and professional organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

More information on nanoscience at Los Alamos is available at http://int.lanl.gov/orgs/mst/nanotech/nano.html online.

More news releases from the Directors Office (DIR)

More news releases about Materials Science