Ted Sargent is visiting professor of nanotechnology at MIT. In 2003, Sargent was named to Technology Review magazine's "TR100": a group of 100 of the world's top young innovators whose work will shape how we live and work in the future. His research breakthroughs have been widely reported in magazines such as Wired, BusinessWeek, and National Geographic. He lives in Cambridge, MA.
Sargent (nanotechnology, MIT & Univ. of Toronto) here gives an overview of recent advances in nanotechnology, the science of engineering materials at the atomic and molecular levels. His tone is optimistic (running counter to the fears exploited in Michael Crichton's 2002 suspense novel, Prey), but he nevertheless presents a balanced picture, citing current research problems and unknowns along with all the promises that nanotechnology holds. The text focuses on three areas: health applications, e.g., diagnosing and treating diseases or growing artificial organs; environmental uses, e.g., developing improved energy systems or pollution monitoring and remediation; and the use of information technology products for computing, displaying, and relaying information. Sargent's use of metaphorical language to explain complex, microscopic phenomena is often illuminating for the nonscientist, though these conceits are occasionally carried too far. The bibliography draws largely from Science and Nature, the two premier general science journals, and the endnotes are keyed to text phrases rather than numbered so as not to intrude on the largely casual prose. Recommended for public and undergraduate library collections.-Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Lib. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Sargent, visiting professor of nanotechnology at MIT, persuasively argues that advances in nanotechnology are occurring at a dizzying rate and have the potential to transform almost all aspects of human society, from health care to warfare. The book examines cutting-edge science in health, the environment and communications. Sargent's optimism knows almost no limits. He predicts that with nanotechnology's ability "to design and build matter to order," scientists will soon be able to prescribe nano-size drugs that will identify and kill single cancerous cells long before they can do any harm, and regenerate nerve cells to cure spinal cord injuries. Further, Sargent says, "new technologies may allow ground-based warfare without people." Throw in a limitless energy supply and a fully integrated computer and communications system that will become an integral part of humans, and you have a utopia almost beyond belief. Indeed, with only a few pages devoted to possible negative environmental consequences of runaway nanotechnology, Sargent's utopia is beyond belief. Although his exuberance is somewhat infectious, he tries a bit too hard to make his writing witty, such as describing an optical detector as "a voyeur, a castrato ogling the photon but under-equipped to seduce it." (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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