|
 News & Events |
|
|
| 10 Emerging Technologies 2009 |
|
MIT’S Technology Review Names 10 Emerging Technologies Poised To Reshape Our World The editors of Technology Review, MIT’s magazine of innovation, have announced their annual list of 10 emerging technologies with the potential to shape the way we live and do business. These revolutionary innovations—each represented by a researcher whose vision and work leads the field—promise fundamental shifts in areas from energy to health care, computing to communications.
|
The 2009 TR10 includes some technologies that should reach the
market within a year, such as paper-based medical tests and virtual
personal-assistant software. Others, like biological machines and
traveling-wave reactors, could take a few years longer. The list includes technologies
miniature and massive—from fast, cheap, capacious computer memory to batteries
that can store enough energy to power a city.
- Liquid battery. Donald Sadoway, a
materials chemistry professor at MIT, has developed a liquid battery that could
store enough electricity to allow cities to run on solar power at night.
- Traveling-wave reactor. John Gilleland, manager
of nuclear programs at Intellectual Ventures, is leading the development of a
reactor that would run on depleted uranium, making nuclear power safer and less
expensive.
- Paper diagnostic test. George Whitesides, a
professor at Harvard
University, is using
paper to create easy-to-use medical tests that could make it possible to
quickly and cheaply diagnose a range of diseases in the developing world.
- Biological machines. Michel Maharbiz, an
assistant professor at the University
of California, Berkeley, has developed a wirelessly
controlled beetle that could one day be used for surveillance or
search-and-rescue missions.
- $100 genome. Han Cao, founder of
BioNanomatrix, has designed a nanofluidic chip that could dramatically lower
the cost of genome analysis. Combined with the right sequencing technology,
Cao’s chip could allow doctors to tailor medical treatment to a patient’s
unique genetic profile, map new genes linked to specific diseases, and quickly
identify new viruses and outbreaks.
- Racetrack memory. IBM fellow Stuart
Parkin has created an entirely new type of data storage using magnetic
nanowires. This “racetrack memory” could eventually replace all other forms of
computer memory and lead to tiny, rugged, and inexpensive portable devices.
- HashCache. Vivek Pai, a computer scientist at Princeton University, has created a new method for
storing Web content that could make Internet access speedier and more
affordable around the world
- Intelligent software assistant. Adam Cheyer, cofounder
of the Silicon Valley startup Siri, is leading
the design of powerful new software that acts as a personal aide. This virtual
personal-assistant software helps users interact more effectively with Web
services to complete tasks such as booking travel or finding entertainment.
- Software-defined networking. Stanford computer
scientist Nick McKeown developed a standard called OpenFlow that allows
researchers to tap into Internet switches and routers to easily test new
networking technologies with the click of a mouse—all without interrupting
normal service.
- Nanopiezotronics. Zhong Lin Wang, a
materials scientist at Georgia Tech, is pioneering the field of nanopiezotronics.
Wang is creating piezoelectric nanowires that generate electricity using tiny
environmental vibrations; he believes they could power implantable medical
devices and serve as tiny sensors.
(Source: Technology Review: 10 Emerging Technologies 2009 (http://www.tecnologyreview.com/specialreports/specialreport)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Back
|
|
|