Drexler’s next book: Radical Abundance, 2012

July 22, 2011

Eric Drexler (credit: David Orban)

This just in from nanotech pioneer  Dr. Eric Drexler: “I’m now working on a new book, Radical Abundance, scheduled for publication in 2012 by Public Affairs. The book has a wide scope in both its content and intended audience, addressing scientists, a general reading audience, and thought leaders in the policy arena.”

Drexler says Radical Abundance will integrate and extend several themes that he has touched on in his Metamodern blog, but will go much further.

The topics include:

  • The nature of science and engineering, and the prospects for a deep transformation in the material basis of civilization.
  • Why all of this is surprisingly understandable.
  • A personal narrative of the emergence of the molecular nanotechnology concept and the turbulent history of progress and politics that followed
  • The quiet rise of macromolecular nanotechnologies, their power, and the rapidly advancing state of the art
  • Incremental paths toward advanced nanotechnologies, the inherent accelerators, and the institutional challenges
  • The technologies of radical abundance, what they are, and what they will enable
  • Disruptive solutions for problems of economic development, energy, resource depletion, and the environment
  • Potential pitfalls in competitive national strategies; shared interests in risk reduction and cooperative transition management
  • Steps toward changing the conversation about the future

“These topics interweave to make what will, I think, be a compelling story for readers with diverse interests, backgrounds, and concerns,” he said.

Drexler is best known for his 1986 classic book, Engines of Creation, which introduced the term “nanotechnology,” created widespread excitement about the potential of nanotechnology, and provided the initial impetus for today’s growing worldwide investment in nanoscale science and technology.

He later authored Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation, a textbook that draws on the principles of physics, chemistry, computation, and systems engineering to describe the fundamentals of molecular manufacturing and how to achieve it.