12.20 Better Living: Through Nanotechnology - by Karen Frindell, Ph.D.

Review

Doctor Karen Frindell of Santa Rosa Junior College Chemistry Department gave 2007 at Science Buzz Cafe a fine bye-bye with her topic, "Better Living through Nanotechnology". Karen is a very accomplished speaker addressing a topic many in the audience were initially unsure about. Her slide show started with a nod to physicist Richard Feynman who is generally given credit for coming up with the idea in a talk he titled, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom." He outlined what would be the core ideas for a then-nonexistent field. Oddly enough, this was in 1959, the year the first patent was issued for the introduction to the practical Lilliputian, the integrated circuit.

Her slides then took a quick tour of practical, or at least existing, nanotechnology. Some of these devices were weird looking, resembling living critters and about the size of some bacteria. Some things were gorgeous; they assembled themselves and even lighted up, things that the inventor called micro-origami. And of course Karen showed some her own work in the field of nanotechnology, things she was understandably excited about. But to be honest (ok, here it goes), she is excited about most things she describes, which is probably why she is such a popular and skilled professor. And she plays the banjo in a local band. Pass it on.

Karen Frindell, Ph.D. at Science Buzz Cafe on December 20th, 2007

Karen Frindell, Ph.D. sharing some of her knowledge and original research on Nanotechnology at Science Buzz Cafe on December 20th, 2007

Or perhaps our machines imitate or resemble biological processes?

Karen Frindell, Ph.D. and Robert Porter, Ph.D. at Science Buzz Cafe on December 20th, 2007

Preview

Come December 20 Chemistry professor Karen Frindell will stand before the Science Buzz crowd who are not out Christmas shopping and address the Big Talk about Small Things, nanotechnology. What exactly is Nanotechnology, besides a buzzword that has been gaining hype since the nineties? Do tiny materials and devices really have the ability to solve problems in areas such as modern medicine and green energy? Can they really improve our lives when incorporated into everyday consumer products? And, more importantly, how can we build them or even see them if they are so small? And why don't things behave predictably, when they get to be so tiny? This talk will attempt to provide a background for a discussion of these questions, and hopefully generate new ones!