Technology Review Identifies Ten Emerging Technologies Poised to Change the World
February 20, 2008 09:00 AM US Eastern Timezone
The editors of Technology Review, MIT’s magazine of innovation, have announced their annual list of the 2008 TR10, the 10 emerging technologies poised to have a dramatic impact on our lives and work.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The editors of Technology Review, MIT’s
magazine of innovation, have announced their annual list of the 2008
TR10, the 10 emerging technologies poised to have a dramatic impact on
our lives and work. These revolutionary innovations—each
represented by a researcher whose work and vision is driving the field—have
the power to transform computing, medicine, nanotechnology, our energy
infrastructure, and more.
This year’s TR10 includes some technologies
that aim to solve critical problems, others that represent whole new
ways of looking at problems, and a few amazing feats of
engineering that have created something entirely new. The 10
technologies highlighted:
- Cellulolytic enzymes. Frances Arnold, a professor of chemical
engineering and biochemistry at Caltech, is taking on one of the
biggest challenges of the biofuel industry: designing better enzymes
for breaking down the cellulose in biomass. Breaking down this complex
molecule will enable bioengineers to produce ethanol and other
biofuels from grasses and agricultural waste instead of corn.
- Reality mining. Sandy Pentland, a professor of media arts and sciences
at MIT, is using data gathered by cell phones to learn more about
human behavior and social interactions. Using data collected by
cell-phone sensors, Pentland’s models could
enable automated security settings, smart personal assistants, and
monitoring of personal and community health.
- Connectomics. Jeff Lichtman, a neuroscientist at Harvard University,
is a leader in the emerging field of “connectomics,”
which attempts to physically map the neural circuits that collect,
process, and archive information. The “wiring
diagrams” that Lichtman’s
technology can generate should lead to better understanding of
diseases such as autism and schizophrenia, as well as new insight into
learning and other cognitive functions.
- Offline Web applications. Developed using Web technologies such as
HTML and Flash, these applications can take advantage of the resources
of a user’s computer as well as those of
the Internet. Kevin Lynch, chief software architect at Adobe Systems,
has led the development of a platform that allows programmers to
quickly and cheaply build applications that work in a broad range of
devices and operating systems.
- Graphene transistors. Georgia Tech physics professor Walter de Heer is
creating transistors based on graphene, a carbon material one atom
thick, which has extraordinary electronic properties and could replace
silicon in speedy, compact computer processors.
- Atomic magnetometers. John Kitching, a physicist at the U.S. National
Institute of Standards and Technology, is developing tiny, low-power
magnetic sensors almost as sensitive as their big, expensive
counterparts. They could one day be incorporated into a wide range of
devices, from portable MRI machines to faster and cheaper detectors
for hidden bombs.
- Wireless power. MIT physicist Marin Soljačić
is working on a technology that transmits electricity wirelessly. The
system could allow any low-power device, such as a cell phone, iPod,
or laptop, to recharge automatically simply by coming within range of
a wireless power source, eliminating the need for cables—and
perhaps, eventually, for batteries.
- Nanoradio. Alex Zettl, a physicist at the University of California,
Berkeley, has developed tiny radios built from single nanotubes. These
nanoradios could improve cell phones and allow communication between
tiny devices, such as environmental sensors.
- Probabilistic chips. Krishna Palem, a professor of computing at Rice
University, is developing a microchip design technology called PCMOS
that allows engineers to trade a small degree of accuracy in
computation for substantial energy savings. In the short term, PCMOS
designs could significantly increase battery life in mobile devices;
in a decade or so, the theories behind PCMOS may need to be invoked if
Moore’s Law is to continue to hold.
- Modeling surprise. Eric Horvitz, head of the Adaptive Systems and
Interaction group at Microsoft Research, is creating software that
combines massive quantities of data, insights into human psychology,
and machine learning to help humans manage surprising events. Surprise
modeling could eventually aid decision makers in a wide range of
domains, such as traffic management, preventive medicine, military
planning, politics, business, and finance.
In addition to being published in the March/April edition of Technology
Review, the TR10 is posted on the Web at http://www.technologyreview.com/TR10.
About Technology Review
Technology Review, Inc., an independent media company owned by MIT, is
the authority on the future of technology, identifying emerging
technologies and analyzing their impact for leaders. Technology Review’s
media properties include Technology Review magazine, the oldest
technology magazine in the world (founded in 1899); the daily news
website TechnologyReview.com; and events such as the annual EmTech
Conference at MIT.
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