By Andrew Webb
Of the Journal
TECH BYTES: Steve Forbes envisions the next Google in small terms. Very small.
The innovations of tomorrow, he says, will likely be rooted in nanotechnology— the manipulation of molecular building blocks of matter to create high-tech pharmaceuticals, stain-resistant fabrics and impossibly strong but light materials.
Like the buzz about search engines and other Internet businesses, the buzz over nanotech died down after 2001. But like Web 2.0, small tech is back in a big way.
"We feel it's got enormous applications," said Forbes, whose publishing company will hold its first nanotechnology conference in Albuquerque next month.
In fact, he said, nanotech and its related technologies could drive the next era of U.S. industry.
"While other countries are starting to recognize the virtues, we've got the firms that are actually specializing in it," he said in a phone interview with the Journal last week. "We thought it would be good to get in on the ground floor."
The Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Forum, which runs Dec. 10-11 at the Embassy Suites, will bring hundreds of industry experts, investors and policymakers together to discuss nanotech's future.
The conference takes its name from a 10-year-old nanotechnology newsletter started by Forbes and authored by nanotechnology investor and entrepreneur Josh Wolfe, of Lux Capital.
Sponsors include Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, which share ownership and operation of the Albuquerque-based Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, or CINT; aerospace firm Lockheed Martin; and Technology Ventures Corp., a high-tech investment matchmaker and business assistance nonprofit.
Nanotechnology is already well entrenched in garment and cosmetics industries, where it is used to create products such as deep-penetrating moisturizers and stain-resistant pants. It is also widely used in the creation of specialized materials for consumer goods, computers and telecommunications equipment.
But Forbes says miniaturization is also making inroads in other fields, such as health care— where scientists are experimenting with unobtrusive medicines to treat cancer or other diseases that can be custom designed for each patient. It is also seeing increased use in national defense and in finding solutions to looming energy shortages.
"The research and development is reaching a critical mass," Forbes said. "We think this is just the beginning."
Forbes said the goal is to ultimately help investors pick the next winners.
"Ten or 12 years ago, there were at least seven major search engines, and Google triumphed," he said. "We're trying to figure out who will be the next Google."
Forbes is editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, which has previously congratulated Gov. Bill Richardson on economic development initiatives designed to foster high-tech business.
He said the company chose to locate its first nanotech conference in Albuquerque because "New Mexico appears to be very keenly interested in" nanotech.
Speakers at the convention will include Forbes, Lockheed Martin senior vice president Ray O. Johnson, Sandia National Laboratories chief technology officer Richard Stulen, Tempo Pharmaceuticals CEO Alan Crane and U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.
For more information, visit www.forbesconferences.com.
TRADE GROUP HONORS IT HEROES: The New Mexico Information Technology and Software Association, or NMITSA, this month presented its third annual round of IT Excellence Awards to projects, products and people in the local industry.
The winners include:
Commercial Software: Ultramain Systems' efbFlightLogs— a software package that allows pilots to capture flight-log information in real time and relay it to maintenance staff on the ground, thereby reducing commercial flight delays. The system replaces traditional paper logs.
Custom Software: POD Inc.'s Public Education Automated Budget Management System— manages budget and management functions for the New Mexico education system.
Integrated Systems: Game Production Services/Abalone Studios' Future Combat Systems Mobile Demonstration Trailer— video game-like modeling and simulation environment for future U.S. defense plans, integrated into a mobile trailer for demonstration to the public.
IT Infrastructure: Blue Jay Enterprises' Santa Fe Public Schools high-bandwidth telecommunications system used for educational programming and distance learning.
IT Support: First Community Bank's use of Microsoft Softgrid and Citrix to create an efficient online bank system.
Hardware and Embedded Systems: Avistar's Wireless Substation Monitoring— a low-cost sensor system that monitors circuit breakers and wirelessly transmits data to a central location or Web page.
Internet Solutions: Ultramain Systems' efbFlightLogs.
Industry Leadership: Eric Renz-Whitmore, program coordinator for the University of New Mexico Art, Research, Technology & Science, or ARTS, Lab, which aims to create economic development based on digital media.
Industry Support: The State Investment Council, for its investment of state funds in venture capital companies, thereby fostering investment in startup companies.
Individual: Tom Ryan, executive director of technology, Albuquerque Public Schools.
Andrew Webb covers technology for the Journal. You can reach him at 823-3819 or awebb@abqjournal.com.
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