0:00:00.760,0:00:03.735
Let's imagine a sculptor[br]building a statue,

0:00:03.760,0:00:06.136
just chipping away with his chisel.

0:00:06.160,0:00:09.216
Michelangelo had this elegant way[br]of describing it when he said,

0:00:09.240,0:00:12.136
"Every block of stone[br]has a statue inside of it,

0:00:12.160,0:00:15.256
and it's the task[br]of the sculptor to discover it."

0:00:15.280,0:00:17.696
But what if he worked[br]in the opposite direction?

0:00:17.720,0:00:19.576
Not from a solid block of stone,

0:00:19.600,0:00:21.296
but from a pile of dust,

0:00:21.320,0:00:25.696
somehow gluing millions of these particles[br]together to form a statue.

0:00:25.720,0:00:27.216
I know that's an absurd notion.

0:00:27.240,0:00:28.976
It's probably impossible.

0:00:29.000,0:00:31.936
The only way you get[br]a statue from a pile of dust

0:00:31.960,0:00:34.296
is if the statue built itself --

0:00:34.320,0:00:38.456
if somehow we could compel millions[br]of these particles to come together

0:00:38.480,0:00:39.760
to form the statue.

0:00:40.320,0:00:41.856
Now, as odd as that sounds,

0:00:41.880,0:00:46.016
that is almost exactly the problem[br]I work on in my lab.

0:00:46.040,0:00:47.456
I don't build with stone,

0:00:47.480,0:00:48.856
I build with nanomaterials.

0:00:48.880,0:00:53.256
They're these just impossibly small,[br]fascinating little objects.

0:00:53.280,0:00:56.576
They're so small that if this controller[br]was a nanoparticle,

0:00:56.600,0:00:59.536
a human hair would be the size[br]of this entire room.

0:00:59.560,0:01:02.376
And they're at the heart of a field[br]we call nanotechnology,

0:01:02.400,0:01:04.215
which I'm sure we've all heard about,

0:01:04.239,0:01:07.696
and we've all heard[br]how it is going to change everything.

0:01:07.720,0:01:09.216
When I was a graduate student,

0:01:09.240,0:01:12.576
it was one of the most exciting times[br]to be working in nanotechnology.

0:01:12.600,0:01:15.816
There were scientific breakthroughs[br]happening all the time.

0:01:15.840,0:01:17.256
The conferences were buzzing,

0:01:17.280,0:01:19.960
there was tons of money[br]pouring in from funding agencies.

0:01:20.760,0:01:22.016
And the reason is

0:01:22.040,0:01:23.856
when objects get really small,

0:01:23.880,0:01:27.496
they're governed by a different set[br]of physics that govern ordinary objects,

0:01:27.520,0:01:29.016
like the ones we interact with.

0:01:29.040,0:01:30.976
We call this physics quantum mechanics.

0:01:31.000,0:01:34.176
And what it tells you is[br]that you can precisely tune their behavior

0:01:34.200,0:01:36.496
just by making seemingly[br]small changes to them,

0:01:36.520,0:01:39.136
like adding or removing[br]a handful of atoms,

0:01:39.160,0:01:40.856
or twisting the material.

0:01:40.880,0:01:42.656
It's like this ultimate toolkit.

0:01:42.680,0:01:45.776
You really felt empowered;[br]you felt like you could make anything.

0:01:45.800,0:01:47.056
And we were doing it --

0:01:47.080,0:01:50.176
and by we I mean my whole[br]generation of graduate students.

0:01:50.200,0:01:53.696
We were trying to make blazing fast[br]computers using nanomaterials.

0:01:53.720,0:01:55.336
We were constructing quantum dots

0:01:55.360,0:01:58.736
that could one day go in your body[br]and find and fight disease.

0:01:58.760,0:02:01.776
There were even groups[br]trying to make an elevator to space

0:02:01.800,0:02:03.040
using carbon nanotubes.

0:02:03.600,0:02:06.000
You can look that up, that's true.

0:02:06.776,0:02:08.776
Anyways, we thought it was going to affect

0:02:08.800,0:02:11.896
all parts of science and technology,[br]from computing to medicine.

0:02:11.920,0:02:13.176
And I have to admit,

0:02:13.200,0:02:15.176
I drank all of the Kool-Aid.

0:02:15.200,0:02:17.840
I mean, every last drop.

0:02:18.520,0:02:20.320
But that was 15 years ago,

0:02:21.160,0:02:22.376
and --

0:02:22.400,0:02:24.776
fantastic science was done,[br]really important work.

0:02:24.800,0:02:26.056
We've learned a lot.

0:02:26.080,0:02:30.456
We were never able to translate[br]that science into new technologies --

0:02:30.480,0:02:33.256
into technologies[br]that could actually impact people.

0:02:33.280,0:02:35.496
And the reason is, these nanomaterials --

0:02:35.520,0:02:37.176
they're like a double-edged sword.

0:02:37.200,0:02:39.456
The same thing that makes[br]them so interesting --

0:02:39.480,0:02:40.776
their small size --

0:02:40.800,0:02:43.096
also makes them impossible to work with.

0:02:43.120,0:02:46.856
It's literally like trying to build[br]a statue out of a pile of dust.

0:02:46.880,0:02:50.576
And we just don't have the tools[br]that are small enough to work with them.

0:02:50.600,0:02:52.896
But even if we did,[br]it wouldn't really matter,

0:02:52.920,0:02:56.816
because we couldn't one by one[br]place millions of particles together

0:02:56.840,0:02:58.200
to build a technology.

0:02:58.760,0:02:59.976
So because of that,

0:03:00.000,0:03:02.096
all of the promise[br]and all of the excitement

0:03:02.120,0:03:04.896
has remained just that:[br]promise and excitement.

0:03:04.920,0:03:07.296
We don't have any[br]disease-fighting nanobots,

0:03:07.320,0:03:09.376
there's no elevators to space,

0:03:09.400,0:03:13.096
and the thing that I'm most interested in,[br]no new types of computing.

0:03:13.120,0:03:15.656
Now that last one,[br]that's a really important one.

0:03:15.680,0:03:17.016
We just have come to expect

0:03:17.040,0:03:20.816
the pace of computing advancements[br]to go on indefinitely.

0:03:20.840,0:03:23.416
We've built entire economies on this idea.

0:03:23.440,0:03:25.176
And this pace exists

0:03:25.200,0:03:27.656
because of our ability[br]to pack more and more devices

0:03:27.680,0:03:29.376
onto a computer chip.

0:03:29.400,0:03:31.216
And as those devices get smaller,

0:03:31.240,0:03:33.496
they get faster, they consume less power

0:03:33.520,0:03:34.936
and they get cheaper.

0:03:34.960,0:03:39.536
And it's this convergence[br]that gives us this incredible pace.

0:03:39.560,0:03:40.776
As an example:

0:03:40.800,0:03:46.216
if I took the room-sized computer[br]that sent three men to the moon and back

0:03:46.240,0:03:48.376
and somehow compressed it --

0:03:48.400,0:03:51.656
compressed the world's[br]greatest computer of its day,

0:03:51.680,0:03:54.256
so it was the same size[br]as your smartphone --

0:03:54.280,0:03:55.536
your actual smartphone,

0:03:55.560,0:03:58.936
that thing you spent 300 bucks on[br]and just toss out every two years,

0:03:58.960,0:04:01.416
would blow this thing away.

0:04:01.440,0:04:02.776
You would not be impressed.

0:04:02.800,0:04:05.296
It couldn't do anything[br]that your smartphone does.

0:04:05.320,0:04:06.816
It would be slow,

0:04:06.840,0:04:09.016
you couldn't put any of your stuff on it,

0:04:09.040,0:04:11.496
you could possibly[br]get through the first two minutes

0:04:11.520,0:04:13.696
of a "Walking Dead" episode[br]if you're lucky --

0:04:13.720,0:04:14.736
(Laughter)

0:04:14.760,0:04:16.935
The point is the progress --[br]it's not gradual.

0:04:16.959,0:04:18.656
The progress is relentless.

0:04:18.680,0:04:19.935
It's exponential.

0:04:19.959,0:04:22.296
It compounds on itself year after year,

0:04:22.320,0:04:24.496
to the point where[br]if you compare a technology

0:04:24.520,0:04:26.216
from one generation to the next,

0:04:26.240,0:04:28.216
they're almost unrecognizable.

0:04:28.240,0:04:30.856
And we owe it to ourselves[br]to keep this progress going.

0:04:30.880,0:04:34.496
We want to say the same thing[br]10, 20, 30 years from now:

0:04:34.520,0:04:36.600
look what we've done[br]over the last 30 years.

0:04:37.200,0:04:39.936
Yet we know this progress[br]may not last forever.

0:04:39.960,0:04:42.016
In fact, the party's kind of winding down.

0:04:42.040,0:04:44.376
It's like "last call for alcohol," right?

0:04:44.400,0:04:46.056
If you look under the covers,

0:04:46.080,0:04:48.656
by many metrics[br]like speed and performance,

0:04:48.680,0:04:51.200
the progress has already slowed to a halt.

0:04:51.760,0:04:53.896
So if we want to keep this party going,

0:04:53.920,0:04:56.176
we have to do what we've[br]always been able to do,

0:04:56.200,0:04:57.656
and that is to innovate.

0:04:57.680,0:05:00.256
So our group's role[br]and our group's mission

0:05:00.280,0:05:02.696
is to innovate[br]by employing carbon nanotubes,

0:05:02.720,0:05:06.776
because we think that they can[br]provide a path to continue this pace.

0:05:06.800,0:05:08.256
They are just like they sound.

0:05:08.280,0:05:10.736
They're tiny, hollow tubes[br]of carbon atoms,

0:05:10.760,0:05:13.696
and their nanoscale size,[br]that small size,

0:05:13.720,0:05:17.376
gives rise to these[br]just outstanding electronic properties.

0:05:17.400,0:05:21.056
And the science tells us[br]if we could employ them in computing,

0:05:21.080,0:05:23.816
we could see up to a ten times[br]improvement in performance.

0:05:23.840,0:05:28.240
It's like skipping through several[br]technology generations in just one step.

0:05:28.840,0:05:30.096
So there we have it.

0:05:30.120,0:05:32.136
We have this really important problem

0:05:32.160,0:05:34.536
and we have what is basically[br]the ideal solution.

0:05:34.560,0:05:36.216
The science is screaming at us,

0:05:36.240,0:05:39.080
"This is what you should be doing[br]to solve your problem."

0:05:41.480,0:05:43.096
So, all right, let's get started,

0:05:43.120,0:05:44.376
let's do this.

0:05:44.400,0:05:47.096
But you just run right back[br]into that double-edged sword.

0:05:47.120,0:05:50.696
This "ideal solution" contains a material[br]that's impossible to work with.

0:05:50.720,0:05:55.016
I'd have to arrange billions of them[br]just to make one single computer chip.

0:05:55.040,0:05:58.640
It's that same conundrum,[br]it's like this undying problem.

0:05:59.360,0:06:01.336
At this point, we said, "Let's just stop.

0:06:01.360,0:06:03.296
Let's not go down that same road.

0:06:03.320,0:06:05.856
Let's just figure out what's missing.

0:06:05.880,0:06:07.296
What are we not dealing with?

0:06:07.320,0:06:09.456
What are we not doing[br]that needs to be done?"

0:06:09.480,0:06:11.256
It's like in "The Godfather," right?

0:06:11.280,0:06:13.576
When Fredo betrays his brother Michael,

0:06:13.600,0:06:15.256
we all know what needs to be done.

0:06:15.280,0:06:16.616
Fredo's got to go.

0:06:16.640,0:06:17.656
(Laughter)

0:06:17.680,0:06:19.616
But Michael -- he puts it off.

0:06:19.640,0:06:20.856
Fine, I get it.

0:06:20.880,0:06:23.336
Their mother's still alive,[br]it would make her upset.

0:06:23.360,0:06:24.776
We just said,

0:06:24.800,0:06:27.096
"What's the Fredo in our problem?"

0:06:27.120,0:06:28.536
What are we not dealing with?

0:06:28.560,0:06:30.096
What are we not doing,

0:06:30.120,0:06:32.640
but needs to be done[br]to make this a success?"

0:06:33.200,0:06:37.256
And the answer is[br]that the statue has to build itself.

0:06:37.280,0:06:39.216
We have to find a way, somehow,

0:06:39.240,0:06:43.336
to compel, to convince[br]billions of these particles

0:06:43.360,0:06:46.336
to assemble themselves[br]into the technology.

0:06:46.360,0:06:49.536
We can't do it for them.[br]They have to do it for themselves.

0:06:49.560,0:06:52.696
And it's the hard way,[br]and this is not trivial,

0:06:52.720,0:06:55.576
but in this case, it's the only way.

0:06:55.600,0:06:59.496
Now, as it turns out,[br]this is not that alien of a problem.

0:06:59.520,0:07:01.376
We just don't build anything this way.

0:07:01.400,0:07:03.416
People don't build anything this way.

0:07:03.440,0:07:06.616
But if you look around --[br]and there's examples everywhere --

0:07:06.640,0:07:09.536
Mother Nature builds everything this way.

0:07:09.560,0:07:12.216
Everything is built from the bottom up.

0:07:12.240,0:07:13.496
You can go to the beach,

0:07:13.520,0:07:16.696
you'll find these simple organisms[br]that use proteins --

0:07:16.720,0:07:17.976
basically molecules --

0:07:18.000,0:07:20.056
to template what is essentially sand,

0:07:20.080,0:07:21.496
just plucking it from the sea

0:07:21.520,0:07:24.896
and building these extraordinary[br]architectures with extreme diversity.

0:07:24.920,0:07:27.536
And nature's not crude like us,[br]just hacking away.

0:07:27.560,0:07:29.256
She's elegant and smart,

0:07:29.280,0:07:32.016
building with what's available,[br]molecule by molecule,

0:07:32.040,0:07:34.176
making structures with a complexity

0:07:34.200,0:07:36.480
and a diversity[br]that we can't even approach.

0:07:37.320,0:07:39.016
And she's already at the nano.

0:07:39.040,0:07:41.536
She's been there[br]for hundreds of millions of years.

0:07:41.560,0:07:43.600
We're the ones that are late to the party.

0:07:44.120,0:07:48.296
So we decided that we're going[br]to use the same tool that nature uses,

0:07:48.320,0:07:49.560
and that's chemistry.

0:07:50.000,0:07:51.456
Chemistry is the missing tool.

0:07:51.480,0:07:53.536
And chemistry works in this case

0:07:53.560,0:07:57.376
because these nanoscale objects[br]are about the same size as molecules,

0:07:57.400,0:08:00.016
so we can use them[br]to steer these objects around,

0:08:00.040,0:08:01.240
much like a tool.

0:08:01.760,0:08:03.816
That's exactly what we've done in our lab.

0:08:03.840,0:08:07.016
We've developed chemistry[br]that goes into the pile of dust,

0:08:07.040,0:08:08.536
into the pile of nanoparticles,

0:08:08.560,0:08:10.936
and pulls out exactly the ones we need.

0:08:10.960,0:08:14.576
Then we can use chemistry to arrange[br]literally billions of these particles

0:08:14.600,0:08:17.456
into the pattern[br]we need to build circuits.

0:08:17.480,0:08:18.816
And because we can do that,

0:08:18.840,0:08:21.216
we can build circuits[br]that are many times faster

0:08:21.240,0:08:24.456
than what anyone's been able[br]to make using nanomaterials before.

0:08:24.480,0:08:25.896
Chemistry's the missing tool,

0:08:25.920,0:08:29.536
and every day our tool gets sharper[br]and gets more precise.

0:08:29.560,0:08:30.776
And eventually --

0:08:30.800,0:08:33.416
and we hope this is[br]within a handful of years --

0:08:33.440,0:08:36.816
we can deliver on one[br]of those original promises.

0:08:36.840,0:08:38.895
Now, computing is just one example.

0:08:38.919,0:08:42.456
It's the one that I'm interested in,[br]that my group is really invested in,

0:08:42.480,0:08:46.296
but there are others[br]in renewable energy, in medicine,

0:08:46.320,0:08:48.056
in structural materials,

0:08:48.080,0:08:51.136
where the science is going to tell you[br]to move towards the nano.

0:08:51.160,0:08:53.280
That's where the biggest benefit is.

0:08:53.920,0:08:55.376
But if we're going to do that,

0:08:55.400,0:08:58.576
the scientists of today and tomorrow[br]are going to need new tools --

0:08:58.600,0:09:00.736
tools just like the ones I described.

0:09:00.760,0:09:04.616
And they will need chemistry.[br]That's the point.

0:09:04.640,0:09:08.296
The beauty of science is that[br]once you develop these new tools,

0:09:08.320,0:09:09.576
they're out there.

0:09:09.600,0:09:10.856
They're out there forever,

0:09:10.880,0:09:13.736
and anyone anywhere[br]can pick them up and use them,

0:09:13.760,0:09:16.720
and help to deliver[br]on the promise of nanotechnology.

0:09:17.320,0:09:20.016
Thank you so much for your time.[br]I appreciate it.

0:09:20.040,0:09:22.480
(Applause)