Russia, S.Korea, Singapore sign nanotechnology cooperation deal 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Russia, South Korea and Singapore signed a cooperation deal on developing nanotechnology Thursday.

A memorandum of understanding signed Thursday on the sidelines of the 2011 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum broadens investment in the Asia Nanotechnology Fund, which was set up last September by the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnology (RUSNANO), the Singaporean Economic Development Board (EDB) and Singapore-based investment group 360ip.

Others contributing to the fund pool under Thursday's MoU will be the South Korean Economy Ministry's Institute for the Advancement of Technology (KIAT), the St. Petersburg municipality and South Korea's Samho Green Investment Venture Capital.

The nanotechnology cooperation fund, to be based in South Korea as a limited partnership, is expected to start with a capitalization of 100 million U.S. dollars.

It will invest in nanotechnology-related projects in their growth and expansion stages, with some funds earmarked for nanotechnology-related projects in their start-up stages.

"The fund is a mechanism for finding promising technologies in Russia and Asia alike," RUSNANO CEO and chairman Anatoly Chubais said. "This strategic partnership will help us promote Russian high-tech products in international markets."

EDB deputy managing director Choon Shian Tan agreed with his Russian partner, saying: "We are pleased the Asia Nanotechnology Fund has attracted new investors. This is a significant milestone since the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between RUSNANO, 360ip and EDB."

KIAT executive vice president Yeong Cheol Seok said: "KIAT is very excited to be a significant investor in the Asia Nanotechnology Fund to support cooperation between the nations and to promote international market opportunities."

The Future of Nanotech 0

Nanotechnology: Why It Matters

Interest in nanotech is strong because standard silicon techniques have nearly reached their limit--CPUs and similar products can't get much smaller with current technology because makers can't keep stuffing more and more transistors in the same space. With nanotech, they can.

Materials shrunk to a few billionths of a meter go crazy. Magnets demagnetize, and conventional techniques of semiconductor information processing--used for everything from storing data to moving bits and bytes around your PC--don't work. But though the rules change, they can be exploited in ways that offer more, not less, functionality and speed. And it will all eventually cost less, too.

This is the world of nanotechnology, and you're already starting to live in it. "The whole trillion-dollar information technology industry is based on the continuing drive of miniaturization," says Thomas Theis, director of physical sciences at IBM's Watson Research Center. Imagine, he says, how big that economy can be when you can get a million times the complexity of today's information systems for the same dollars.

Nanotech research by government and private industry promises to create breakthroughs across information technology--creating dramatically faster, smaller, and cheaper devices that will permit ubiquitous computing, some forms of which we haven't conceived of yet--along with enhancing just about everything else humans make.

"We and others are using nanotechnology to create smaller and smaller chips that have more and more power and communicate with everything around them," comments Nantero CEO Greg Schmergel. "Everything in your home and office and car will have intelligence and the information you need."

The Future of Nanotech 0

Nanotechnology: Why It Matters

Interest in nanotech is strong because standard silicon techniques have nearly reached their limit--CPUs and similar products can't get much smaller with current technology because makers can't keep stuffing more and more transistors in the same space. With nanotech, they can.

Materials shrunk to a few billionths of a meter go crazy. Magnets demagnetize, and conventional techniques of semiconductor information processing--used for everything from storing data to moving bits and bytes around your PC--don't work. But though the rules change, they can be exploited in ways that offer more, not less, functionality and speed. And it will all eventually cost less, too.

This is the world of nanotechnology, and you're already starting to live in it. "The whole trillion-dollar information technology industry is based on the continuing drive of miniaturization," says Thomas Theis, director of physical sciences at IBM's Watson Research Center. Imagine, he says, how big that economy can be when you can get a million times the complexity of today's information systems for the same dollars.

Nanotech research by government and private industry promises to create breakthroughs across information technology--creating dramatically faster, smaller, and cheaper devices that will permit ubiquitous computing, some forms of which we haven't conceived of yet--along with enhancing just about everything else humans make.

"We and others are using nanotechnology to create smaller and smaller chips that have more and more power and communicate with everything around them," comments Nantero CEO Greg Schmergel. "Everything in your home and office and car will have intelligence and the information you need."