Nanotech: "Hype or Reality?"

Left to right:

- Dr. Joe Stetter, Director, MicroSystems Innovation Center, SRI International (just a hand visible)

- Mark Abumeri, Partner, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear

- Dr. Paolo Gargini, Director of Technology Strategy, Intel Corporation

- Ronald Mosso, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, NanoGram Corporation

- Warren Packard, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson

 

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I had the pleasure of attending a panel at the Commonwealth Club of SF last Tuesday entitled "Nanotech: Hype or Reality?" The participants were Joe Stetter of SRI, Mark Abumeri of Knobbe Martens, Paolo Gargini of Intel, Ron Mosso of NanoGram, and Warren Packard of Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

 

For a gathering of lawyers, scientists, and a VC, it was a very lively discussion, with topics ranging from implantable nanobatteries for internal defibrillators to the future of Moore's Law.

 

Despite the title of the panel, there was no question that nanotech is reality (with a healthy dose of hype mixed in, of course). The safety of nanotech materials was a topic of discussion, however, with the consensus being that the biggest concern is at the point of manufacture, for nanomaterials are easier to keep an eye on once incorporated into larger structures (e.g., nanopants).

 

An audience member asked what it would take for Silicon Valley to become Nanotech Valley. The panel's response was that nanotech isn't an industry but rather a group of technologies and materials involving very, very, very small things. Silicon Valley is named for the electronics industry that is based on the silicon of the transistor and the microprocessor. In contrast, nanotech is a technology that transcends many industries: biomedical, transportation, energy, communication, and even the silicon industry itself.

Done