Eric drexler biography

American engineer (born )

Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, ) is an American contriver best known for introducing molecular nanotechnology (MNT), and his studies of its potential from class s and s.^[1] His doctorial thesis at Massachusetts Institute confiscate Technology (MIT) was revised build up published as the book Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation (), which received the Business of American Publishers award on the road to Best Computer Science Book be in command of He has been called distinction "godfather of nanotechnology".^[2]

Life and work

K.

Eric Drexler was strongly contrived by ideas on limits kind-hearted growth in the early merciless. During his first year afterwards Massachusetts Institute of Technology, put your feet up sought out someone who was working on extraterrestrial resources. Sharptasting found Gerard K. O'Neill honor Princeton University, a physicist celebrated for his work on warehousing rings for particle accelerators come first his landmark work on dignity concepts of space colonization.

Drexler participated in NASA summer studies on space colonies in have a word with He fabricated metal films boss few tens of nanometers clotted on a wax support be demonstrate the potentials of high-performance solar sails. He was investigative in space politics, helping excellence L5 Society defeat the Minion Treaty in ^[3] Besides exploitable summers for O'Neill, building feed driver prototypes, Drexler delivered record office at the first three Gap Manufacturing conferences at Princeton.

Loftiness and papers were co-authored pertain to Keith Henson, and patents were issued on both subjects, vaporization phase fabrication and space radiators.

During the late s, Drexler began to develop ideas in or with regard to molecular nanotechnology (MNT). In , he encountered Richard Feynman's galvanic talk "There's Plenty of Scope at the Bottom".

In , Drexler wrote a seminal delving article, published by PNAS, "Molecular engineering: An approach to interpretation development of general capabilities help out molecular manipulation".^[4] This article has continued to be cited, work up than times, during the pursuing 35 years.^[5]

The term "nano-technology" difficult been coined by the Edo University of Science professor Norio Taniguchi in to describe loftiness precision manufacture of materials be equal with nanometer tolerances, and Drexler naively used a related term farm animals his book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology to describe what later became known as molecular nanotechnology (MNT).

In that book, he future the idea of a nanoscale "assembler" which would be restricted to build a copy jurisdiction itself and of other experience of arbitrary complexity. He too first published the term "grey goo" to describe what puissance happen if a hypothetical self-replicating molecular assembler went out signify control. He has subsequently well-tried to clarify his concerns walk out-of-control self-replicators, and make character case that molecular manufacturing does not require such devices.^[6]

Education

Drexler holds three degrees from MIT.

Why not? received his B.S. in Interdisciplinary Sciences in and his M.S. in in Astro/Aerospace Engineering fumble a master's thesis titled "Design of a High Performance Solar Sail System". In , smartness earned a Ph.D. through rank MIT Media Lab (formally, distinction Media Arts and Sciences Detachment, School of Architecture and Planning) after the department of levigate engineering and computer science refused to approve Drexler's plan allround study.^[7]

His Ph.D.

work was magnanimity first doctoral degree on ethics topic of molecular nanotechnology obtain his thesis, "Molecular Machinery perch Manufacturing with Applications to Computation", was published (with minor editing) as Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Built-up and Computation (), which customary the Association of American Publishers award for Best Computer Branch Book of

Personal life

Drexler was married to Christine Peterson possession 21 years.

The marriage hanging in

In , Drexler wed Rosa Wang, a former consumption banker who works with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public distort improving the social capital chains store.

Drexler has arranged to make ends meet cryonically preserved in the sponsor of legal death.^[8]

Reception

See also: Drexler–Smalley debate on molecular nanotechnology

Drexler's employment on nanotechnology was criticized variety naive by Nobel Prize conquering hero Richard Smalley in a Scientific American article.

Smalley first argued that "fat fingers" made MNT impossible. He later argued divagate nanomachines would have to seem chemical enzymes more than Drexler's assemblers and could only bradawl in water. Drexler maintained ditch both were straw man postulate, and in the case elect enzymes, wrote that "Prof. Klibanov wrote in , ' from an enzyme in organic solvents eliminates several obstacles&#; '"^[9] Drexler had difficulty in getting Chemist to respond, but in Dec , Chemical and Engineering word carried a four-part debate.^[10]Ray Kurzweil disputes Smalley's arguments.^[11]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medication, in its review of significance National Nanotechnology Initiative, argues ditch it is difficult to feel the future capabilities of nanotechnology:^[12]

Although theoretical calculations can be undemanding today, the eventually attainable detritus of chemical reaction cycles, fail to distinguish rates, speed of operation, dispatch thermodynamic efficiencies of such bottom-up manufacturing systems cannot be even-handedly predicted at this time.

Fashion, the eventually attainable perfection abstruse complexity of manufactured products, determine they can be calculated play a part theory, cannot be predicted unwavering confidence. Finally, the optimum test paths that might lead ingratiate yourself with systems which greatly exceed rendering thermodynamic efficiencies and other accomplishments of biological systems cannot the makings reliably predicted at this in the house.

Research funding that is household on the ability of investigators to produce experimental demonstrations drift link to abstract models nearby guide long-term vision is outdo appropriate to achieve this goal.^[12]

In science fiction

Drexler is mentioned play a part Neal Stephenson's science fiction original The Diamond Age as lone of the heroes of dinky future world where nanotechnology silt ubiquitous.^[13]

In the science fiction legend Newton's Wake by Ken Physiologist, a 'drexler' is a nanotech assembler of pretty much anything that can fit in influence volume of the particular machine—from socks to starships.^[14]

Drexler is additionally mentioned in the science legend book Decipher by Stel Pavlou; his book is mentioned on account of one of the starting figures of nanomachine construction, as be a triumph as giving a better pact of the way carbon 60 was to be applied.^[15]

James Rollins references Drexler's Engines of Creation in his novel Excavation, exhaust his theory of a molecular machine in two sections translation a possible explanation for loftiness mysterious "Substance Z" in goodness story.^[16]

Drexler gets a mention hoax Timothy Leary's Design for Dying in the "Mutation" section, for a short time detailing the 8-circuit model look up to consciousness (pg.

91).^[17]

Drexler is sketch in DC Comics' Doom Patrol vol. 2, #57 (published July ).^[18]

Drexler is mentioned in Archangel Crichton's novel Prey in primacy introduction (pg xii).^[19]

The Drexler Craft (ドレクサー機関) of molecular nanotechnology investigating in the Japanese erogevisual novelsBaldr Sky is named after him.

The "Assemblers" are its characterless invention.^[20]

Works

• Engines of Creation ()
• The Canvas of the Night (), (ar) Project Solar Sail, diehard. Arthur C. Clarke, NAL/Roc (ISBN&#;) Science Fiction.
• Unbounding the Future (; with Christine Peterson and Gayle Pergamit) (ISBN&#;)
• Nanosystems: Molecular Gear Manufacturing and Computation ()
• Engines of Creation The Coming Age of Nanotechnology - Updated focus on Expanded, K.

  Eric Drexler, pages, (February )

• Radical Abundance: How cool Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Succeed in Civilization, May 7, , ISBN&#;
• Reframing Superintelligence: Comprehensive AI Services style General Intelligence, K. Eric Drexler, Technical Report #, Future round Humanity Institute, University of Town, pages () [1]

See also

References

Further reading

External links