HP researcher cautions against nanotech investment hype
An article on the Small Times website ("HP Official: 'Ignorance and greed' could spoil nanotech's credibility", by Jeff Karoub) reports an address to the Nanotech Planetís Fall 2001 Conference and Expo in Boston on 29 November 2001, by R. Stanley Williams, a leading nanotechnology researcher and director of Hewlett-Packardís Quantum Science Research. According to the article, Williams said a major challenge facing the immature nanotechnology field is not the science, but the combination of misleading media reports and venture capitalists looking for the next big thing in the wake of the dot-com collapse.
"Ignorance and greed meeting in the marketplace is a recipe for disaster," Williams told attendees from business, government and academia. "As a consequence, the field will lose credibility and momentum."
Williams also noted that even though most nanotech-related research in the United States is funded by the federal government, that funding represents only a tiny fraction of the federal research and development budget, and is unlikely to see any large increases. He said most nanotech research concepts currently go unfunded.
December 2nd, 2001 at 5:55 PM
Nanotech Planet
I spoke at that conference, but didn't hear the speech that was referenced. I was impressed by how many people from the financial community — VCs, analysts, etc. — seemed to be present. There also was a pretty heavy Euro presence.
It's good advice not to be stupid about this stuff, but it's inevitable, as in any new industry, that there will be lots of dumb ideas financed. (Can you say Pets.Com?) That's part of the process.