Richard P. Feynman
(1918-1988) |
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2010 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize
Submissions/nominations were due September 30, 2010 |
Winners of the 2010 Feynman Prizes in Nanotechnology
Palo Alto, CA — December 20, 2010 – The Foresight Institute, a nanotechnology education and public policy think tank based in Palo Alto, has announced the winners of the prestigious 2010 Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes in Nanotechnology.
Established in 1993 in honor of Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman, two $5,000 prizes are awarded in two categories, theory and experiment, to recognize researchers whose recent work has most advanced the field toward the achievement of Feynman's vision for nanotechnology: molecular manufacturing, the construction of atomically-precise products through the use of molecular machine systems.
The winner of the 2010 Feynman Prize for Experimental work is Masakazu Aono (MANA Center, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan) in recognition of his pioneering and continuing work, including research into the manipulation of atoms, the multiprobe STM and AFM, the atomic switch, and single-molecule-level chemical control including ultradense molecular data storage and molecular wiring; and his inspiration of an entire generation of researchers who have made their own ground-breaking contributions to nanotechnology.
The winner of the 2010 Feynman Prize for Theory is Gustavo E. Scuseria (Rice University) for his development of quantum mechanical methods and computational programs that make it possible to carry out accurate theoretical predictions of molecules and solids, and their application to the chemical and electronic properties of carbon nanostructures.
"The answer to Feynman's 1959 question 'What would happen if we could arrange the atoms one by one the way we want them…' has come a step closer to reality," said Ralph C. Merkle, Chairman of the Foresight Institute Feynman Prize Committee. "Our ability to simulate and manipulate atoms will enable us to design and build engineered molecular machinery. This coming nanotechnology revolution will transform our world and our lives for the better."
The annual Feynman Prizes are leading to the eventual awarding of the $250,000 Feynman Grand Prize, an incentive prize for making a nanometer-scale robotic arm and a nanometer-scale computing device, the most critical components in future molecular manufacturing systems.
2010 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize for Theoretical and Experimental Molecular Nanotechnology
Two prizes in the amount of $5,000 each will be awarded to the researchers whose recent work has most advanced the achievement of Feynman's goal for nanotechnology: molecular manufacturing, defined as the construction of atomically-precise products through the use of molecular machine systems. Separate prizes will be awarded for theoretical work and for experimental work. The winners of this year's prizes will be announced at a January conference to be held at SRI in Menlo Park, CA.
This prize is given in honor of Richard P. Feynman who, in 1959, gave a visionary talk at Caltech in which he said "The problems of chemistry and biology can be greatly helped if our ability to see what we are doing, and to do things on an atomic level, is ultimately developed — a development which I think cannot be avoided."
Selection Committee for the 2010 Prizes
A committee chaired by a previous Feynman Prize recipient was asked to select this year's honorees.
Nominations and Submissions
Either submit your own work or nominate a colleague who deserves this prize.
Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes Submission or Nomination Instructions.
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