Feynman Symposium at University of South Carolina (2010)

University of South Carolina to Host Symposium on “There’s Plenty Of Room At The Bottom” (2010)

On 29 December 1959, Richard P. Feynman addressed the American Physical Society with a talk titled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”. This vivid and eloquent talk described a world that would become possible when scientists controlled matter precisely at the level of molecules, atoms and even electrons.

In February 1960, the Caltech magazine Engineering & Science published Feynman’s “Plenty of Room”, and it has been re-published ten times since then. This has become one of the best-known papers in the history of nanotechnology.

The fiftieth anniversary of the initial publication of “Plenty of Room” presents us with an opportunity to reflect upon Richard Feynman’s legacy in nanotechnology.

The University of South Carolina will convene a symposium to consider the talk, the man, and the field of nanotechnology during the past fifty years.

The Feynman Anniversary Symposium takes place at the University of South Carolina on Friday and Saturday, 12 and 13 February 2010.

Registration fee: $25; no charge for USC faculty, staff or students.

For information about the program, contact Chris Toumey: Toumey@mailbox.sc.edu

For information about logistics and accommodations, contact Mark Stevens: mstevens@mailbox.sc.edu

This event is supported by National Science Foundation grant 0531160.  Opinions expressed in this symposium are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

The Program of the Feynman Anniversary Symposium:

Friday Afternoon, 12 February in the Gressette Room, Harper College, on the USC Horseshoe:
3:30 PM Ms. Michelle Feynman: Genius to You, Father to Me.
4:30 PM Mr. Conrad Schneiker: My Conversations with Richard Feynman regarding Nanotechnology.

Friday Evening, 12 February, at Za’s on Devine Street in Columbia:
7:30 PM Dinner at Za’s.
8:30 PM Dr. Michael Roukes: The Feynman Legacy at Caltech.

Saturday Morning, 13 February:
9 AM Dr. Cyrus Mody: Fifty Years of Nanotechnology.
10 AM Dr. Chris Toumey: Reading Feynman into Nanotechnology.
11 AM Panel discussion with the symposium speakers.