0:00:00.993,0:00:04.034
Let's imagine a sculptor[br]building a statue,

0:00:04.034,0:00:06.003
just chipping away with his chisel.

0:00:06.291,0:00:09.520
Michelangelo had this elegant way[br]of describing it when he said,

0:00:09.520,0:00:12.444
"Every block of stone[br]has a statue inside of it,

0:00:12.444,0:00:15.180
and it's the task[br]of the sculptor to discover it."

0:00:15.473,0:00:17.882
But what if he worked[br]in the opposite direction?

0:00:17.882,0:00:19.956
Not from a solid block of stone,

0:00:19.956,0:00:21.521
but from a pile of dust,

0:00:21.521,0:00:25.563
somehow gluing millions of these particles[br]together to form a statue.

0:00:25.693,0:00:27.499
I know that's an absurd notion.

0:00:27.499,0:00:28.991
It's probably impossible.

0:00:29.224,0:00:34.701
The only way you get a statue from a pile[br]of dust is if the statue built itself --

0:00:34.701,0:00:38.738
if somehow we could compel millions[br]of these particles to come together

0:00:38.738,0:00:40.311
to form the statue.

0:00:40.554,0:00:42.119
Now, as odd as that sounds,

0:00:42.119,0:00:46.099
that is almost exactly the problem[br]I work on in my lab.

0:00:46.316,0:00:47.720
I don't build with stone,

0:00:47.720,0:00:49.112
I build with nanomaterials.

0:00:49.112,0:00:53.380
They're these just impossibly small,[br]fascinating little objects.

0:00:53.380,0:00:56.815
They're so small that if this controller[br]was a nanoparticle,

0:00:56.815,0:00:59.297
a human hair would be the size[br]of this entire room.

0:00:59.600,0:01:02.393
And they're at the heart of a field[br]we call nanotechnology,

0:01:02.393,0:01:04.319
which I'm sure we've all heard about,

0:01:04.319,0:01:07.901
and we've all heard how[br]it is going to change everything.

0:01:07.901,0:01:09.514
When I was a graduate student,

0:01:09.514,0:01:12.805
it was one of the most exciting[br]times to be working in nanotechnology.

0:01:12.805,0:01:15.606
There were scientific breakthroughs[br]happening all the time.

0:01:15.888,0:01:17.363
The conferences were buzzing,

0:01:17.363,0:01:20.523
there was tons of money[br]pouring in from funding agencies.

0:01:20.893,0:01:22.231
And the reason is

0:01:22.231,0:01:24.090
when objects get really small,

0:01:24.090,0:01:27.659
they're governed by a different set[br]of physics that govern ordinary objects,

0:01:27.659,0:01:29.168
like the ones we interact with.

0:01:29.168,0:01:31.314
We call this physics quantum mechanics.

0:01:31.314,0:01:34.536
And what it tells you is that you[br]can precisely tune their behavior

0:01:34.536,0:01:36.860
just by making seemingly[br]small changes to them,

0:01:36.860,0:01:39.393
like adding or removing[br]a handful of atoms,

0:01:39.393,0:01:40.849
or twisting the material.

0:01:41.079,0:01:42.870
It's like this ultimate toolkit.

0:01:42.870,0:01:44.155
You really felt empowered;

0:01:44.155,0:01:45.964
you felt like you could make anything.

0:01:45.964,0:01:47.070
And we were doing it --

0:01:47.070,0:01:50.381
and by we I mean my whole[br]generation of graduate students.

0:01:50.381,0:01:53.912
We were trying to make blazing-fast[br]computers using nanomaterials.

0:01:53.912,0:01:55.516
We were constructing quantum dots

0:01:55.516,0:01:58.776
that could one day go in your body[br]and find and fight disease.

0:01:58.993,0:02:02.117
There were even groups[br]trying to make an elevator to space

0:02:02.117,0:02:03.759
using carbon nanotubes.

0:02:03.759,0:02:04.769
You can look that up,

0:02:04.769,0:02:05.769
that's true.

0:02:06.940,0:02:09.371
Anyways, we thought it was[br]going to effect all parts

0:02:09.371,0:02:10.621
of science and technology,

0:02:10.621,0:02:12.070
from computing to medicine.

0:02:12.070,0:02:13.472
And I have to admit,

0:02:13.472,0:02:15.395
I drank all of the Kool-Aid.

0:02:15.395,0:02:17.820
I mean, every last drop.

0:02:18.709,0:02:21.439
But that was 15 years ago,

0:02:21.439,0:02:22.440
and --

0:02:22.440,0:02:23.945
fantastic science was done,

0:02:23.945,0:02:25.042
really important work.

0:02:25.042,0:02:26.350
We've learned a lot.

0:02:26.350,0:02:30.768
We were never able to translate[br]that science into new technologies --

0:02:30.768,0:02:33.369
into technologies that could[br]actually impact people.

0:02:33.369,0:02:34.504
And the reason is,

0:02:34.504,0:02:35.726
these nanomaterials --

0:02:35.726,0:02:37.361
they're like a double-edged sword.

0:02:37.361,0:02:39.657
The same thing that makes [br]them so interesting --

0:02:39.657,0:02:41.003
they're small size --

0:02:41.003,0:02:43.278
also makes them impossible to work with.

0:02:43.278,0:02:46.833
It's literally like trying to build[br]a statue out of a pile of dust.

0:02:47.090,0:02:50.564
And we just don't have the tools[br]that are small enough to work with them.

0:02:50.790,0:02:51.821
But even if we did,

0:02:51.821,0:02:53.067
it wouldn't really matter,

0:02:53.067,0:02:57.143
because we couldn't one by one[br]place millions of particles together

0:02:57.143,0:02:58.620
to build a techonology.

0:02:58.855,0:02:59.917
So because of that,

0:02:59.917,0:03:00.916
all of the promise

0:03:00.916,0:03:02.120
and all of the excitement

0:03:02.120,0:03:03.623
has remained just that:

0:03:03.623,0:03:05.172
promise and excitement.

0:03:05.172,0:03:07.735
We don't have any[br]disease-fighting nanobots,

0:03:07.735,0:03:09.797
there's no elevators to space,

0:03:09.797,0:03:11.801
and the thing that I'm most interested in,

0:03:11.801,0:03:13.251
no new types of computing.

0:03:13.251,0:03:14.503
Now that last one,

0:03:14.503,0:03:15.947
that's a really important one.

0:03:15.947,0:03:17.280
We just have come to expect

0:03:17.280,0:03:21.147
the pace of computing advancements[br]to go on indefinitely.

0:03:21.147,0:03:23.688
We've built entire economies on this idea.

0:03:23.688,0:03:26.428
And this pace exists[br]because of our ability

0:03:26.428,0:03:29.599
to pack more and more devices[br]onto a computer chip.

0:03:29.599,0:03:31.560
And as those devices get smaller,

0:03:31.560,0:03:32.618
they get faster,

0:03:32.618,0:03:33.846
they consume less power

0:03:33.846,0:03:35.277
and they get cheaper.

0:03:35.277,0:03:39.316
And it's this convergence that gives us[br]this incredible pace.

0:03:39.645,0:03:40.648
As an example:

0:03:40.648,0:03:46.469
if I took the room-sized computer[br]that sent three men to the moon and back

0:03:46.469,0:03:48.556
and somehow compressed it --

0:03:48.556,0:03:51.773
compressed the world's[br]greatest computer of its day --

0:03:51.773,0:03:54.498
so it was the same size[br]as your smartphone --

0:03:54.498,0:03:55.779
your actual smartphone,

0:03:55.779,0:03:59.181
that thing you spent 300 bucks on[br]and just toss out every two years --

0:03:59.181,0:04:01.620
would blow this thing away.

0:04:01.620,0:04:03.117
You would not be impressed.

0:04:03.117,0:04:05.610
It couldn't do anything[br]that your smartphone does.

0:04:05.610,0:04:07.207
It would be slow,

0:04:07.207,0:04:09.156
you couldn't put any of your stuff on it,

0:04:09.156,0:04:11.582
you could possibly get through[br]the first two minutes

0:04:11.582,0:04:13.721
of a "Walking Dead" episode[br]if you're lucky --

0:04:13.721,0:04:14.719
(Laughter)

0:04:14.719,0:04:16.166
The point is the progress --

0:04:16.166,0:04:17.252
it's not gradual.

0:04:17.252,0:04:18.977
The progress is relentless;

0:04:18.977,0:04:20.104
it's exponential;

0:04:20.104,0:04:22.509
it compounds on itself[br]year after year,

0:04:22.509,0:04:24.661
to the point where[br]if you compare a technology

0:04:24.661,0:04:26.397
from one generation to the next,

0:04:26.397,0:04:28.236
they're almost unrecognizable.

0:04:28.442,0:04:31.072
And we owe it to ourselves[br]to keep this progress going.

0:04:31.072,0:04:34.774
We want to say the same thing[br]10, 20, 30 years from now:

0:04:34.774,0:04:37.246
look what we've done[br]over the last 30 years.

0:04:37.478,0:04:40.227
Yet, we know this progress[br]may not last forever.

0:04:40.227,0:04:42.226
In fact, the party's kind of winding down.

0:04:42.226,0:04:44.686
It's like "last call for alcohol," right?

0:04:44.686,0:04:46.347
If you look under the covers,

0:04:46.347,0:04:48.852
by many metrics like[br]speed and performance,

0:04:48.852,0:04:51.597
the progress has already slowed to a halt.

0:04:51.936,0:04:54.103
So if we want to keep this party going,

0:04:54.103,0:04:56.341
we have to do what we've[br]always been able to do,

0:04:56.341,0:04:58.004
and that is to innovate.

0:04:58.004,0:04:59.622
So our group's role

0:04:59.622,0:05:00.727
and our group's mission

0:05:00.727,0:05:02.990
is to innovate by employing[br]carbon nanotubes,

0:05:02.990,0:05:06.731
because we think that they can[br]provide a path to continue this pace.

0:05:06.988,0:05:08.424
They are just like they sound.

0:05:08.424,0:05:11.041
They're tiny, hollow tubes[br]of carbon atoms,

0:05:11.041,0:05:12.561
and their nanoscale size --

0:05:12.561,0:05:13.966
that small size --

0:05:13.966,0:05:17.280
gives rise to these just outstanding[br]electronic properties.

0:05:18.270,0:05:21.488
The science tells us if we could[br]employ them in computing,

0:05:21.488,0:05:24.112
we could see up to ten times[br]improvement in performance.

0:05:24.112,0:05:28.436
It's like skipping through several[br]technology generations in just one step.

0:05:29.004,0:05:30.161
So, there we have it.

0:05:30.161,0:05:32.475
We have this really important problem,

0:05:32.475,0:05:34.846
and we have what is basically[br]the ideal solution.

0:05:34.846,0:05:36.659
The science is screaming at us,

0:05:36.659,0:05:39.552
"This is what you should be doing[br]to solve your problem."

0:05:41.605,0:05:43.473
So, all right, let's get started,

0:05:43.473,0:05:44.467
let's do this.

0:05:44.467,0:05:47.144
But you just run right back[br]into that double-edged sword.

0:05:47.144,0:05:50.983
This "ideal solution" contains a material[br]that's impossible to work with.

0:05:50.983,0:05:55.068
I'd have to arrange billions of them[br]just to make one single computer chip.

0:05:55.298,0:05:57.197
It's that same conundrum,

0:05:57.197,0:05:58.939
it's like this undying problem.

0:05:59.471,0:06:00.472
At this point,

0:06:00.472,0:06:01.716
we said, "Let's just stop.

0:06:01.716,0:06:03.520
Let's not go down that same road.

0:06:03.520,0:06:05.713
Let's just figure out what's missing.

0:06:05.987,0:06:07.382
What are we not dealing with?

0:06:07.382,0:06:09.742
What are not doing that needs to be done?"

0:06:09.742,0:06:11.503
It's like in "The Godfather," right?

0:06:11.503,0:06:13.913
When Fredo betrays his brother Michael,

0:06:13.913,0:06:15.558
we all know what needs to be done.

0:06:15.558,0:06:16.839
Fredo's got to go.

0:06:16.839,0:06:17.838
(Laughter)

0:06:17.838,0:06:18.835
But Michael --

0:06:18.835,0:06:19.931
he puts it off.

0:06:19.931,0:06:20.929
Fine, I get it.

0:06:20.929,0:06:22.241
Their mother's still alive,

0:06:22.241,0:06:23.389
it would make her upset.

0:06:23.389,0:06:24.391
(Laughter)

0:06:24.391,0:06:25.393
We just said,

0:06:25.393,0:06:27.312
"What's the Fredo in our problem?"

0:06:27.312,0:06:28.722
What are we not dealing with?

0:06:28.722,0:06:30.337
What are we not doing,

0:06:30.337,0:06:33.425
but needs to be done[br]to make this a success?"

0:06:33.425,0:06:37.438
And the answer is that the statue[br]has to build itself.

0:06:37.438,0:06:38.514
We have to find a way,

0:06:38.514,0:06:39.507
somehow,

0:06:39.507,0:06:41.358
to compel,

0:06:41.358,0:06:43.596
to convince billions of these particles

0:06:43.596,0:06:46.188
to assemble themselves[br]into the technology.

0:06:46.567,0:06:47.792
We can't do it for them.

0:06:47.792,0:06:49.772
They have to do it for themselves.

0:06:49.772,0:06:51.078
And it's the hard way,

0:06:51.078,0:06:52.965
and this is not trivial,

0:06:52.965,0:06:54.290
but in this case,

0:06:54.290,0:06:55.537
it's the only way.

0:06:55.876,0:06:56.966
As it turns out,

0:06:56.966,0:06:59.273
this is not that alien of a problem.

0:06:59.650,0:07:01.648
We just don't build anything this way.

0:07:01.648,0:07:03.685
People don't build anything this way.

0:07:03.685,0:07:04.930
But if you look around --

0:07:04.930,0:07:06.847
and there's examples everywhere --

0:07:06.847,0:07:09.822
mother nature builds everything this way.

0:07:09.822,0:07:11.855
Everything is built from the bottom up.

0:07:12.499,0:07:13.646
You can go to the beach,

0:07:13.646,0:07:16.915
you'll find these simple organisms[br]that use proteins --

0:07:16.915,0:07:18.301
basically molecules --

0:07:18.301,0:07:20.382
to template what is essentially sand,

0:07:20.382,0:07:21.826
just plucking it from the sea

0:07:21.826,0:07:25.167
and building these extraordinary[br]architectures with extreme diversity.

0:07:25.167,0:07:26.721
And nature's not crude like us,

0:07:26.721,0:07:27.793
just hacking away.

0:07:27.793,0:07:29.479
She's elegant and smart,

0:07:29.479,0:07:30.955
building with what's available,

0:07:30.955,0:07:32.329
molecule by molecule,

0:07:32.329,0:07:34.517
making structures with a complexity

0:07:34.517,0:07:37.020
and a diversity that we[br]can't even approach.

0:07:37.589,0:07:39.283
She's already at the nano.

0:07:39.283,0:07:41.776
She's been there for hundreds[br]of millions of years.

0:07:41.776,0:07:43.907
We're the ones that are late to the party.

0:07:44.241,0:07:48.630
So, we decided that we're going[br]to use the same tool that nature uses,

0:07:48.630,0:07:50.219
and that's chemistry.

0:07:50.219,0:07:51.781
Chemistry is the missing tool.

0:07:51.781,0:07:53.837
And chemistry works in this case

0:07:53.837,0:07:57.749
because these nanoscale objects[br]are about the same size as molecules,

0:07:57.749,0:08:00.391
so we can use them to steer[br]these objects around,

0:08:00.391,0:08:01.624
much like a tool.

0:08:01.940,0:08:03.949
That's exactly what we've done in our lab.

0:08:03.949,0:08:07.261
We've developed chemistry[br]that goes into the pile of dust,

0:08:07.261,0:08:08.775
into the pile of nanoparticles,

0:08:08.775,0:08:11.148
and pulls out exactly the ones we need.

0:08:11.148,0:08:14.763
Then, we can use chemistry to arrange[br]literally billions of these particles

0:08:14.763,0:08:17.693
into the pattern we need[br]to build circuits.

0:08:17.693,0:08:19.008
And because we can do that,

0:08:19.008,0:08:21.442
we can build circuits[br]that are many times faster

0:08:21.442,0:08:24.691
than what anyone's been able[br]to make using nanomaterials before.

0:08:24.691,0:08:26.099
Chemistry's the missing tool,

0:08:26.099,0:08:29.708
and every day our tool gets sharper[br]and gets more precise.

0:08:29.708,0:08:30.709
And eventually --

0:08:30.709,0:08:33.654
and we hope this is within[br]a handful of years --

0:08:33.654,0:08:36.395
we can deliver on one[br]of those original promises.

0:08:37.190,0:08:39.165
Now, computing is just one example.

0:08:39.165,0:08:40.939
It's the one that I'm interested in,

0:08:40.939,0:08:42.864
that my group is really invested in,

0:08:42.864,0:08:44.885
but there are others in renewable energy,

0:08:44.885,0:08:46.546
in medicine,

0:08:46.546,0:08:48.254
in structural materials,

0:08:48.254,0:08:51.252
where the science is going to tell you[br]to move towards the nano.

0:08:51.252,0:08:53.685
That's where the biggest benefit is.

0:08:53.970,0:08:55.431
But if we're going to do that,

0:08:55.431,0:08:58.649
the scientists of today and tomorrow[br]are going to need new tools --

0:08:58.649,0:09:00.798
tools just like the ones I described.

0:09:02.780,0:09:04.886
And they will need chemistry.

0:09:04.886,0:09:08.616
The beauty of science is that once[br]you develop these new tools,

0:09:08.616,0:09:09.625
they're out there.

0:09:09.625,0:09:10.908
They're out there forever,

0:09:10.908,0:09:14.132
and anyone anywhere can pick[br]them up and use them,

0:09:14.132,0:09:17.308
and help to deliver on the promise[br]of nanotechnology.

0:09:17.622,0:09:19.190
Thank you so much for your time.

0:09:19.190,0:09:20.188
I appreciate it.

0:09:20.188,0:09:21.186
(Applause)