LITTLE JOURNEY OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

1959 Feynman gives after-dinner talk describing molecular machines building with atomic precision
1974 Taniguchi uses term "nano-technology" in paper on ion-sputter machining
1977 Drexler originates molecular nanotechnology concepts at MIT
1981 First technical paper on molecular engineering to build with atomic precisionSTM invented
1985 Buckyball discovered
1986 First book publishedAFM inventedFirst organization formed
1987 First protein engineeredFirst university symposium
1988 First university course
1989 IBM logo spelled in individual atomsFirst national conference
1990 First nanotechnology journalJapan's STA begins funding nanotech projects
1991 Japan''s MITI announces bottom-up "atom factory"IBM endorses bottom-up pathJapan's
MITI commits $200 millionCarbon nanotube discovered
1992 First textbook publishedFirst Congressional testimony
1993 First Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awardedFirst coverage of nanotechfrom White House"Engines of Creation" book given to Rice administration, stimulating
first university nanotech center
1994 Nanosystems textbook used in first university courseUS Science Advisor advocates
nanotechnology
1995 First think tank reportFirst industry analysis of military applications
1996 $250,000 Feynman Grand Prize announcedFirst European conferenceNASA begins work
in computational nanotechFirst nanobio conference
1997 First company founded: ZyvexFirst design of nanorobotic system
1998 First NSF forum, held in conjunction with Foresight ConferenceFirst DNA-based
nanomechanical device
1999 First Nanomedicine book publishedFirst safety guidelinesCongressional hearings on
proposed National Nanotechnology Initiative
2000 President Clinton announces U.S. National Nanotechnology InitiativeFirst state research
initiative: $100 million in California
2001 First report on nanotech industryU.S. announces first center for military applications
2002 First nanotech industry conferenceRegional nanotech efforts multiply
2003 Congressional hearings on societal implicationsCall for balancing NNI research
portfolioDrexler/Smalley debate is published in Chemical & Engineering News
2004 First policy conference on advanced nanotechFirst center for nanomechanical systems
2005 At Nanoethics meeting, Roco announces nanomachine/nanosystem project count has
reached 300
2006 National Academies nanotechnology report calls for experimentation toward molecular manufacturing