Jessica Winter
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Nanotechnology: Roadblocks along the Assembly Line
Since 2001, when the National Nanotechnology Initiative was introduced, the promise of nanotechnology has been extoled, with potential applications hailed in everything from consumer electronics to medicine. In this talk, Jessica Winter will examine the hype vs. the reality of nanotechnology. As the founder of a nanotechnology spinoff company, she will describe roadblocks unique to nanotech commercialization, societal perceptions of nanotechnology research, and what can be realistically expected to enter the consumer market in the near future. Finally, she’ll discuss the cutting edge of nanotechnology research: nanorobotics, nanomachines, and nanofactory assembly—what it takes to mass-produce nanotechnology. Avenues include DNA origami and DNA walkers, the combination of engineered nanomaterials with biological components, and actuation of these devices. These materials approach ever closer to those conceived by the greatest science fiction writers, with applications that can only be imagined.
Winter is an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.
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