1
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let's imagine a sculptor
building a statue,

2
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just chipping away with his chisel.

3
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Michelangelo had this elegant way
of describing it when he said,

4
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Every block of stone
has a statue inside of it,

5
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and it's the task
of the sculptor to discover it."

6
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But what if he worked
in the opposite direction?

7
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not from a solid block of stone,

8
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but from a pile of dust,

9
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
somehow gluing millions of these particles
together to form a statue.

10
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know that's an absurd notion --

11
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's probably impossible.

12
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The only way you get a statue from a pile
of dust is if the statue built itself --

13
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if somehow we could compel millions
of these particles to come together

14
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to form the statue.

15
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Now, as odd as that sounds,

16
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is almost exactly the problem
I work on in my lab.

17
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don't build with stone,

18
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I build with nanomaterials.

19
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're these just impossibly small,
fascinating little object.

20
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're so small that if this controller
was a nanoparticle,

21
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a human hair would be the size
of this entire room.

22
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they're at the heart of a field
we call nanotechnology,

23
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which I'm sure we've all heard about,

24
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we've all heard about how
it is going to change everything.

25
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You know, when I was a graduate student,

26
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it was one of the most exciting
times to be working in nanotechnology.

27
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There were scientific breakthroughs
happening all the time.

28
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The conferences were buzzing,

29
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there was tons of money
pouring in from funding agencies.

30
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the reason is,

31
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when objects get really small,

32
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they're governed by a different set
of physics that govern ordinary objects,

33
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like the ones we interact with.

34
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We call this physics quantum mechanics.

35
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And what is tells you is that you
can precisely tune their behavior

36
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just by making seemingly
small changes to them,

37
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like adding or removing
a handful of atoms,

38
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or twisting the material.

39
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like this ultimate toolkit.

40
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You really felt empowered;

41
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you felt like you could make anything.

42
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we were doing it,

43
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and by we I mean my whole
generation of graduate students.

44
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We were trying to make blazing-fast
computers using nanomaterials.

45
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We were constructing quantum dots

46
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that could one day go in your body
and find and fight disease.

47
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There were even groups
trying to make and elevator to space

48
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
using carbon nanotubes.

49
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You can look that up,

50
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's true.

51
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Anyways, we thought it was
going to effect all parts

52
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of science and technology,

53
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from computing to medicine.

54
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I have to admit,

55
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I drank all of the Kool-Aid.

56
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I mean, every last drop.

57
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But that was 15 years ago,

58
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and --

59
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so fantastic science was done,

60
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
really important work.

61
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've learned a lot.

62
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We were never able to translate
that science into new technologies --

63
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into technologies that could
actually impact people.

64
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the reason is,

65
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
these nanomaterials --

66
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they're like a double-edged sword.

67
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The same thing that makes 
them so interesting --

68
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they're small size --

69
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
also makes them impossible to work with.

70
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's literally like trying to build
a statue out of a pile of dust.

71
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we just don't have the tools
that are small enough to work with them.

72
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But even if we did,

73
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it wouldn't really matter,

74
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we couldn't one-by-one
place millions of particles together

75
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to build a techonology.

76
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So because of that,

77
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all of the promise

78
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and all of the excitement

79
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
has remained just that:

80
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
promise and excitement.

81
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We don't have any
disease-fighting nanobots,

82
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there's no elevators to space,

83
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the thing that I'm most interested in,

84
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
no new types of computing.

85
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Now that last one,

86
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that's a really important one.

87
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We just have come to expect

88
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the pace of computing advancements
to go on indefinitely.

89
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've built entire economies on this idea.

90
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this pace exists
because of our ability

91
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to pack more and more devices
onto a computer chip.

92
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And as those devices get smaller,

93
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they get faster,

94
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they consume less power

95
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and they get cheaper.

96
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it's this convergence that gives us
this incredible pace.

97
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As an example:

98
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if I took the room-sized computer
that sent three men to the moon and back,

99
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and somehow compressed it --

100
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
compressed the world's
greatest computer of its day --

101
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so it's the same size as your smartphone,

102
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
your actualy smartphone,

103
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that thing you spent 300 bucks on
and just toss out every two years,

104
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
would blow this thing away.

105
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Like, you would not be impressed.

106
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It couldn't do anything
that your smartphone does.

107
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it would be slow,

108
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you couldn't put any of your stuff on it,

109
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you could possibly get through
the first two minutes

110
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of a "Walking Dead" episode
if you're lucky --

111
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughter)

112
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The point is,

113
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the progress is not gradual.

114
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The progress is relentless;

115
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's exponential,

116
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it compounds on itself
year after year,

117
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to the point where
if you compare a technology

118
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from one generation to the next,

119
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they're almost unrecognizable.

120
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we owe it to ourselves
to keep this progress going.

121
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We want to say the same thing
10, 20, 30 years from now:

122
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
look what we've done
over the last 30 years.

123
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yet we know this progress
may not last forever.

124
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In fact, the party's kind of winding down.

125
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like "last call for alcohol," right?

126
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If you look under the covers,

127
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by many metrics like
speed and performance,

128
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the progress has already slowed to a halt.

129
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So if we want to keep this party going,

130
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we have to do what we've always
been able to do,

131
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and that is to innovate.

132
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So our group's role

133
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and our group's mission

134
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is to innovate by employing
carbon nanotubes,

135
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we think that they can
provide a path to continue this pace.

136
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They are just like they sound.

137
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're tiny, hollow tubes
of carbon atoms,

138
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and their nanoscale-size --

139
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that small size --

140
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
gives rise to these just outstanding
electronic properties.

141
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The science tells us if we could
employ them in computing,

142
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we could see up to ten times
improvement in performance.

143
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like skipping through several
technology generations in just one step.

144
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, there we have it.

145
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have this really important problem,

146
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we have what is basically
the ideal solution.

147
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The science is screaming at us,

148
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"This is what you should be doing
to solve your problem."

149
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, all right, let's get started,

150
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
let's do this.

151
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But you just run right back
into that double-edged sword.

152
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This "ideal solution" contains a material
that's impossible to work with.

153
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'd have to arrange billions of them
just to make one single computer chip.

154
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's that same conundrum,

155
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's like undying problem.

156
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
At this point,

157
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we said, "Let's just stop.

158
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let's not go down that same road.

159
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let's just figure out what's missing.

160
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What are we not dealing with?

161
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What are not doing that needs to be done?"

162
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like in "The Godfather," right?

163
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When Fredo betrays his brother Michael,

164
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we all know what needs to be done.

165
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Fredo's got to go.

166
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughter)

167
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But Michael --

168
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he puts it off.

169
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Fine, I get it.

170
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Their mother's still alive,

171
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it would make her upset.

172
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughter)

173
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We just said,

174
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"What's the Fredo in our problem?"

175
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What are we not dealing with?

176
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What are we not doing,

177
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but needs to be done
to make this a success?

178
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the answer is that the statue
has to build itself.

179
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have to find a way,

180
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
somehow,

181
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to compel,

182
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to convince billions of these particles

183
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to assemble themselves
into the technology.

184
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can't do it for them.

185
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They have to do it for themselves.

186
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it's the hard way,

187
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and this is not trivial,

188
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but in this case,

189
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's the only way.

190
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As it turns out,

191
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this is not that alien of a problem.

192
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We just don't build anything this way.

193
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
People don't build anything this way.

194
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But if you look around --

195
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and there's examples everywhere --

196
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mother nature builds everything this way.

197
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Everything is built from the bottom up.

198
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You can go to the beach,

199
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you'll find these simple organisms
that use proteins --

200
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
basically molecules --

201
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to template what is essentially sand,

202
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just plucking it from the sea

203
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and building these extraordinary
architectures with extreme diversity.

204
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And nature's not crude like us,

205
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just hacking away.

206
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She's elegant and smart,

207
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
building with what's available,

208
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
molecule by molecule,

209
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
making structures with a complexity

210
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and a diversity that we
can't even approach.

211
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She's already at the nano.

212
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She's been there for hundreds
of millions of years.

213
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're the ones that are late to the party.

214
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, we decided that we're going
to use the same tool that nature uses,

215
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and that's chemistry.

216
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Chemistry is the missing tool.

217
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And chemistry works in this case

218
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because these nanoscale objects
are about the same size as molecules,

219
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so we can use them to steer
these objects around,

220
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
much like a tool.

221
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That's exactly what we've done in our lab.

222
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've developed chemistry
that goes into the pile of dust,

223
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into the pile of nanoparticles,

224
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and pulls out exactly the ones we need.

225
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then, we can use chemistry to arrange
literally billions of these particles

226
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into the pattern we need
to build circuits.

227
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And because we can do that,

228
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we can build circuits
that are many times faster

229
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
than what anyone's been able
to make using nanomaterials before.

230
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Chemistry's the missing tool,

231
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and everyday our tool gets sharper
and gets more precise.

232
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And eventually --

233
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we hope this is within
a handful of years --

234
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we can deliver on one
of those original promises.

235
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Computing is just one example.

236
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's the one that I'm interested in,

237
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that my group is really invested in,

238
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but there are others in renewable energy,

239
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in medicine,

240
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in structural materials,

241
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where the science is going to tell you
to move towards that nano.

242
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That's where the biggest benefit is.

243
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But if we're going to do that,

244
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the scientists of today and tomorrow
are going to need new tools --

245
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
tools just like the ones I described.

246
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they will need chemistry.

247
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The beauty of science is that once
you develop these new tools,

248
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they're out there.

249
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're out there forever,

250
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and anyone anywhere can pick
them up and use them,

251
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and help to deliver on the promise
of nanotechnology.

252
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you so much for your time.

253
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Applause)