K. Eric Drexler Biography

Born asKim Eric Drexler
Occup.Scientist
FromUSA
BornApril 25, 1955
USA
Age68 years
K. Eric Drexler is a futurist, author, as well as researcher that was born around 1955 in the USA. He is best understood for his work with nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing, which includes the manipulation of issue at the atomic and also molecular degree to develop products and devices with brand-new as well as one-of-a-kind buildings.

Drexler was born as well as increased in Maryland, where he received his Bachelor's level in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1977, and also his Ph.D. in molecular nanotechnology from MIT in 1991.

Throughout his time at MIT, Drexler ended up being curious about the concept of nanotechnology as well as molecular manufacturing, which he believed can revolutionize several fields, consisting of medicine, electronic devices, and products scientific research. He composed his doctoral thesis on the subject, which was later on released as guide "Nanosystems: Molecular Equipment, Manufacturing, and also Computation" in 1992.

Drexler's deal with nanotechnology as well as molecular production has actually been significant in the area, and has actually led to the advancement of brand-new modern technologies and also products. He has likewise dealt with various other projects, including the development of room habitats as well as lunar mining, as well as has actually created a number of other books, consisting of "Engines of Production: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology" as well as "Unbounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution".

Throughout his occupation, Drexler has actually collaborated with lots of other scientists as well as futurists, consisting of Marvin Minsky, Ralph Merkle, and also Robert Freitas. He has actually additionally established a number of organizations, including the Molecular Manufacturing Shortcut Team, which looks for to accelerate the development of molecular production technology, and the Insight Institute, which concentrates on the future of innovation and also culture.

Drexler's work has actually been recognized with numerous honors and also honors, including the Theodore von Karman Medal from the International Academy of Astronautics in 1989, as well as the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology in 1993. He remains to compose and also mention the future of modern technology and culture, and also is taken into consideration one of the most vital futurists of his generation.

Our collection contains 21 quotes who is written / told by Eric Drexler.

Related authors: Marvin Minsky (Scientist), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Ralph Merkle (Scientist)

K. Eric Drexler Famous Works:
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21 Famous quotes by K. Eric Drexler

Small: In thinking about nanotechnology today, whats most important is understanding where it leads, what nano
"In thinking about nanotechnology today, what's most important is understanding where it leads, what nanotechnology will look like after we reach the assembler breakthrough"
Small: And that because the moving parts are a million times smaller than the ones were familiar with, they mo
"And that because the moving parts are a million times smaller than the ones we're familiar with, they move a million times faster, just as a smaller tuning fork produces a higher pitch than a large one"
Small: The basic parts, the start-up molecules, can be supplied in abundance and dont have to be made by some
"The basic parts, the start-up molecules, can be supplied in abundance and don't have to be made by some elaborate process. That immediately makes things simpler"
Small: Protein engineering is a technology of molecular machines - of molecular machines that are part of repl
"Protein engineering is a technology of molecular machines - of molecular machines that are part of replicators - and so it comes from an area that already raises some of the issues that nanotechnology will raise"
Small: If you take all the factories in the world today, they could make all the parts necessary to build more
"If you take all the factories in the world today, they could make all the parts necessary to build more factories like themselves. So, in a sense, we have a self-replicating industrial system today, but it would take a tremendous effort to copy what we already have"
Small: You can find academic and industrial groups doing some relevant work, but there isnt a focus on buildin
"You can find academic and industrial groups doing some relevant work, but there isn't a focus on building complex molecular systems. In that respect, Japan is first, Europe is second, and we're third"
Small: The other advantage is that in conventional manufacturing processes, it takes a long time for a factory
"The other advantage is that in conventional manufacturing processes, it takes a long time for a factory to produce an amount of product equal to its own weight. With molecular machines, the time required would be something more like a minute"
Small: Likewise nanotechnology will, once it gets under way, depend on the tools we have then and our ability
"Likewise nanotechnology will, once it gets under way, depend on the tools we have then and our ability to use them, and not on the steps that got us there"
Small: Its a lot easier to see, at least in some cases, what the long-term limits of the possible will be, bec
"It's a lot easier to see, at least in some cases, what the long-term limits of the possible will be, because they depend on natural law. But it's much harder to see just what path we will follow in heading toward those limits"
Small: I had been impressed by the fact that biological systems were based on molecular machines and that we w
"I had been impressed by the fact that biological systems were based on molecular machines and that we were learning to design and build these sorts of things"
Small: But if we can manage it so people dont have things forced on them that they dont want, I think theres e
"But if we can manage it so people don't have things forced on them that they don't want, I think there's every reason to believe things can settle out in a situation that is recognizably better than the one we're stuck in today"
Small: Any powerful technology can be abused
"Any powerful technology can be abused"
Small: The really big difference is that what you make with a molecular machine can be completely precise, dow
"The really big difference is that what you make with a molecular machine can be completely precise, down to the tiniest degree of detail that can exist in the world"
Small: On the molecular scale, you find its reasonable to have a machine that does a million steps per second,
"On the molecular scale, you find it's reasonable to have a machine that does a million steps per second, a mechanical system that works at computer speeds"
Small: Ive encountered a lot of people who sound like critics but very few who have substantive criticisms.
"I've encountered a lot of people who sound like critics but very few who have substantive criticisms. There is a lot of skepticism, but it seems to be more a matter of inertia than it is of people having some real reason for thinking something else"
Small: After realizing that we would eventually be able to build molecular machines that could arrange atoms t
"After realizing that we would eventually be able to build molecular machines that could arrange atoms to form virtually any pattern that we wanted, I saw that an awful lot of consequences followed from that"
Small: My work at MIT had focused on what we could build in space once we had inexpensive space transportation
"My work at MIT had focused on what we could build in space once we had inexpensive space transportation and industrial facilities in orbit. And this led to various sorts of work in space development"
Small: But while doing that Id been following a variety of fields in science and technology, including the wor
"But while doing that I'd been following a variety of fields in science and technology, including the work in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and so forth"
Small: An international race in the relevant technologies is getting under way at this point, not necessarily
"An international race in the relevant technologies is getting under way at this point, not necessarily with an understanding of where that race leads in the long run, but strongly motivated by the short-term payoffs"
Small: Today we have big, crude instruments guided by intelligent surgeons, and we have little, stupid molecul
"Today we have big, crude instruments guided by intelligent surgeons, and we have little, stupid molecules of drugs that get dumped into the body, diffuse around and interfere with things as best they can. At present, medicine is unable to heal anything"
Small: My greatest concern is that the emergence of this technology without the appropriate public attention a
"My greatest concern is that the emergence of this technology without the appropriate public attention and international controls could lead to an unstable arms race"