Editing K. Eric Drexler

{{Short description|American engineer (born 1955)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = K. Eric Drexler
| image             = Drexler763x1000.jpg
| image_size        = 220
| alt               =
| caption           = Eric Drexler in 2013
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1955|04|25}}
| birth_place       = [[Alameda, California]], U.S.
| death_date        = 
| death_place       =
| citizenship       = [[United States]]<!-- Resides in England -->
| nationality       =
| fields            = [[Engineering]], [[molecular nanotechnology]]
| workplaces        =
| alma_mater        = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (BS, MS, PhD)
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Marvin Minsky]]
| thesis_title = Molecular Machinery and Manufacturing With Applications to Computation
| thesis_year = 1991
| thesis_url = http://e-drexler.com/d/09/00/Drexler_MIT_dissertation.pdf
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students  =
| known_for         = [[Foresight Institute]]
| awards            =
| signature         = <!-- Filename only -->
| signature_alt     =
| footnotes         =
| spouses           = {{unbulleted list |{{marriage|[[Christine Peterson]]|1981|2002|end=div}} |{{marriage|Rosa Wang|2006}} }}
}}
'''Kim Eric Drexler''' (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for introducing [[molecular nanotechnology]] (MNT), and his studies of its potential from the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bayda |first1=Samer |last2=Adeel |first2=Muhammad |last3=Tuccinardi |first3=Tiziano |last4=Cordani |first4=Marco |last5=Rizzolio |first5=Flavio |date=2019-12-27 |title=The History of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: From Chemical–Physical Applications to Nanomedicine |journal=Molecules |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=112 |doi=10.3390/molecules25010112 |issn=1420-3049 |pmc=6982820 |pmid=31892180 |doi-access=free }}</ref> His 1991 doctoral thesis at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) was revised and published as the book ''Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation'' (1992), which received the [[Association of American Publishers]] award for Best Computer Science Book of 1992. He has been called the "godfather of nanotechnology".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Regis |first1=Ed |date=2004-10-01 |url=https://www.wired.com/2004/10/drexler/ |title=The Incredible Shrinking Man |language=en-US |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=2023-11-01 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

==Life and work==

K. Eric Drexler was strongly influenced by ideas on [[limits to growth]] in the early 1970s. During his first year at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], he sought out someone who was working on [[Extraterrestrial resource utilization|extraterrestrial resources]]. He found [[Gerard K. O'Neill]] of [[Princeton University]], a physicist famous for his work on [[storage ring]]s for [[particle accelerator]]s and his landmark work on the concepts of [[space colonization]]. Drexler participated in NASA summer studies on space colonies in 1975 and 1976. He fabricated metal [[thin film]]s a few tens of nanometers thick on a wax support to demonstrate the potentials of high-performance [[solar sail]]s. He was active in space politics, helping the [[L5 Society]] defeat the [[Moon Treaty]] in 1980.<ref>http://www.nss.org/settlement/L5news/1980-treaty.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031247/http://www.nss.org/settlement/L5news/1980-treaty.htm |date=2017-02-07}} {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> Besides working summers for O'Neill, building [[mass driver]] prototypes, Drexler delivered papers at the first three [[Space manufacturing|Space Manufacturing]] conferences at Princeton. The 1977 and 1979 papers were co-authored with [[Keith Henson]], and patents were issued on both subjects, vapor phase fabrication and space radiators.

During the late 1970s, Drexler began to develop ideas about [[molecular nanotechnology]] (MNT). In 1979, he encountered [[Richard Feynman]]'s provocative 1959 talk "[[There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom]]". In 1981, Drexler wrote a seminal research article, published by [[PNAS]], "Molecular engineering: An approach to the development of general capabilities for molecular manipulation".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Drexler|first1=K. Eric|title=Molecular engineering: An approach to the development of general capabilities for molecular manipulation|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=1 September 1981|volume=78|issue=9|pages=5275–5278|language=en|issn=0027-8424|doi=10.1073/pnas.78.9.5275|pmid=16593078|pmc=348724|bibcode=1981PNAS...78.5275D|doi-access=free}}</ref> This article has continued to be cited, more than 620 times, during the following 35 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Drexler: Molecular engineering: An approach to the development of general capabilities ...|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_sdt=1,3&hl=en&sciodt=0,3&cites=http://www.pnas.org/content/78/9/5275.abstract&scipsc=|website=scholar.google.com|publisher=Google Scholar|access-date=6 September 2016|format=citation}}</ref>

The term "[[nanotechnology|nano-technology]]" had been coined by the [[Tokyo University of Science]] professor [[Norio Taniguchi]] in 1974 to describe the precision manufacture of materials with nanometer tolerances, and Drexler unknowingly used a related term in his 1986 book ''[[Engines of Creation|Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology]]'' to describe what later became known as [[molecular nanotechnology]] (MNT). In that book, he proposed the idea of a nanoscale "assembler" which would be able to build a copy of itself and of other items of arbitrary complexity. He also first published the term "[[grey goo]]" to describe what might happen if a hypothetical self-replicating molecular assembler went out of control. He has subsequently tried to clarify his concerns about out-of-control self-replicators, and make the case that molecular manufacturing does not require such devices.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/429591b |pmid=15190320 |title=Nanotech takes small step towards burying 'grey goo' |year=2004 |last1=Giles |first1=Jim |journal=Nature |volume=429 |issue=6992 |page=591|bibcode=2004Natur.429..591G |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Education===

Drexler holds three degrees from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]. He received his [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] in Interdisciplinary Sciences in 1977 and his [[M.S.]] in 1979 in [[Aerospace Engineering|Astro/Aerospace Engineering]] with a master's thesis titled "Design of a High Performance Solar Sail System". In 1991, he earned a [[doctorate|Ph.D.]] through the [[MIT Media Lab]] (formally, the Media Arts and Sciences Section, School of Architecture and Planning) after the department of [[electrical engineering]] and [[computer science]] refused to approve Drexler's plan of study.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McCray|first1=W. Patrick|title=The Visioneers: How a Group of Elite Scientists Pursued Space Colonies, Nanotechnologies, and a Limitless Future|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691139838|page=[https://archive.org/details/visioneershowgro0000mccr/page/215 215]|url=https://archive.org/details/visioneershowgro0000mccr|url-access=registration|access-date=6 September 2016|language=en}}</ref>

His Ph.D. work was the first doctoral degree on the topic of molecular nanotechnology and his thesis, "Molecular Machinery and Manufacturing with Applications to Computation", was published (with minor editing) as ''Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing and Computation'' (1992), which received the Association of American Publishers award for Best Computer Science Book of 1992.

===Personal life===

In 1981, Drexler married [[Christine Peterson]]. The marriage ended in 2002.

In 2006, Drexler married Rosa Wang, a former [[Investment banking|investment banker]] who works with [[Ashoka (non-profit organization)|Ashoka: Innovators for the Public]] on improving the [[social capital]] markets.

Drexler has arranged to be [[Cryonics|cryonically preserved]] in the event of [[legal death]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Miller|first1=James D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4EAw-tcmhsMC&q=peter+thiel+cryonics&pg=PA214|title=Singularity Rising: Surviving and Thriving in a Smarter, Richer, and More Dangerous World|date=2012|publisher=BenBella Books|isbn=978-1-936661-65-7|language=en}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{see also|Drexler–Smalley debate on molecular nanotechnology}}

Drexler's work on nanotechnology was criticized as naive by [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Richard Smalley]] in a 2001 ''[[Scientific American]]'' article. Smalley first argued that "fat fingers" made MNT impossible. He later argued that nanomachines would have to resemble chemical [[Enzyme|enzymes]] more than Drexler's assemblers and could only work in water. Drexler maintained that both were [[straw man]] arguments, and in the case of enzymes, wrote that "Prof. [[Alexander Klibanov (chemist)|Klibanov]] wrote in 1994, ' ... using an enzyme in organic [[Solvent|solvents]] eliminates several obstacles&nbsp;... '"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crnano.org/Debate.htm |title=Nanotechnology: Of Chemistry, Nanobots, and Policy |publisher=Crnano.org |access-date=2012-07-17}}</ref> Drexler had difficulty in getting Smalley to respond, but in December 2003, Chemical and Engineering news carried a four-part debate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8148/8148counterpoint.html |title=C&En: Cover Story - Nanotechnology |publisher=Pubs.acs.org |date=2003-12-01 |access-date=2012-07-17}}</ref> [[Ray Kurzweil]] disputes Smalley's arguments.<ref>Ray Kurzweil, ''The Singularity Is Near'', 2005</ref>

The [[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]], in its 2006 review of the [[National Nanotechnology Initiative]], argues that it is difficult to predict the future capabilities of nanotechnology:<ref name="Size">{{cite book|last1=Committee to Review the National Nanotechnology Initiative|title=A Matter of Size: Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative|date=2006|publisher=National Academies of Science|location=Washington, DC|isbn=978-0-309-10223-0|page=108|url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11752/a-matter-of-size-triennial-review-of-the-national-nanotechnology|access-date=30 May 2016}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Although theoretical calculations can be made today, the eventually attainable range of chemical reaction cycles, error rates, speed of operation, and thermodynamic efficiencies of such bottom-up manufacturing systems cannot be reliably predicted at this time. Thus, the eventually attainable perfection and complexity of manufactured products, while they can be calculated in theory, cannot be predicted with confidence. Finally, the optimum research paths that might lead to systems which greatly exceed the thermodynamic efficiencies and other capabilities of biological systems cannot be reliably predicted at this time. Research funding that is based on the ability of investigators to produce experimental demonstrations that link to abstract models and guide long-term vision is most appropriate to achieve this goal.<ref name=Size/>}}

===In science fiction===
Drexler is mentioned in [[Neal Stephenson]]'s [[science fiction]] novel ''[[The Diamond Age]]'' as one of the heroes of a future world where nanotechnology is ubiquitous.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Stephenson|first1=Neal|date=1998-08-27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfDXB9kvbZYC|title=The Diamond Age|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=9780141924052|language=en}}</ref>

In the science fiction novel ''[[Newton's Wake]]'' by [[Ken MacLeod]], a 'drexler' is a nanotech assembler of pretty much anything that can fit in the volume of the particular machine—from socks to starships.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Newton's Wake: Novel|last1=<!-- name -->|first1=<!-- human -->|date=2005-01-06|publisher=Orbit|isbn=9781841492247|edition= New |location=London|language=en}}</ref>

Drexler is also mentioned in the science fiction book ''[[Decipher (novel)|Decipher]]'' by [[Stel Pavlou]]; his book is mentioned as one of the starting points of nanomachine construction, as well as giving a better understanding of the way [[Fullerene|carbon 60]] was to be applied.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Decipher|last1=<!-- name -->|first1=<!-- human -->|date=2007-01-09|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=9780312366964|edition= Reprint|language=en}}</ref>

[[James Rollins]] references Drexler's ''Engines of Creation'' in his novel ''Excavation'', using his theory of a molecular machine in two sections as a possible explanation for the mysterious "Substance Z" in the story.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rollins|first1=James|url=https://jamesrollins.com/book/excavation/|title=Excavation|work=James Rollins|language=en-US|access-date=2025-02-23}}</ref>

Drexler gets a mention in [[Timothy Leary]]'s ''[[Design for Dying]]'' in the "Mutation" section, briefly detailing the [[8-circuit model of consciousness]] (pg. 91).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Leary|first1=Timothy|author1-link=Timothy Leary|date=2018-04-19|title=Design for Dying|publisher=Forgotten Books|isbn=9781333214203|location=S.l.|language=en}}</ref>

Drexler is mentioned in [[DC Comics]]' ''[[Doom Patrol]]'' vol. 2, #57 (published July 1992).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Morrison|first1=Grant|last2=Case|first2=Richard|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doom-patrol-57-grant-morrison/1116358503|title=Doom Patrol #57 (1987-1995) (NOOK Comic with Zoom View)|via=Barnes & Noble|language=en|access-date=2025-02-23}}</ref>

Drexler is mentioned in Michael Crichton's 2002 novel ''[[Prey (novel)|Prey]]'' in the introduction (pg xii).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Crichton|first1=Michael|date=October 13, 2009|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/prey-michael-crichton|title=Prey|publisher=[[HarperCollins]] US|language=en|access-date=2025-02-23}}</ref>

The Drexler Facility (''ドレクサー機関'') of molecular nanotechnology research in the Japanese [[eroge]] [[Visual novel|visual novels]] ''[[Baldr Sky]]'' is named after him. The "Assemblers" are its key invention.<ref>{{Cite web|author1=Team Baldrhead|url=https://vndb.org/v1306|title=Baldr Sky Dive1 "Lost Memory"|website=The Visual Novel Database|language=en|access-date=2025-02-23}}</ref>

==Works==
* ''[[Engines of Creation]]'' (1986)
** Available [http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Cover.html online at e-drexler.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108152007/http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Cover.html |date=2009-01-08 }} dead link
** Available online in Chinese as [https://web.archive.org/web/20061118004131/http://www.oursci.org/lib/engine/ 创造的发动机]
** Available online in Italian as [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726035027/http://estropico.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=118:-motori-di-creazione-lera-prossima-della-nanotecnologia-di-k-eric-drexler&catid=36:nanotecnologie&Itemid=73 MOTORI DI CREAZIONE: L’era prossima della nanotecnologia]
* The Canvas of the Night (1990), (ar) Project Solar Sail, ed. Arthur C. Clarke, NAL/Roc ({{ISBN|0451450027}}) Science Fiction.
* ''Unbounding the Future'' (1991; with [[Christine Peterson]] and Gayle Pergamit) ({{ISBN|0-688-12573-5}})
** Available online with free download at [http://www.foresight.org/UTF/Unbound_LBW/ Unbounding the Future: the Nanotechnology Revolution]
* [http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/nanosystems.html ''Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation''] (1992)
** Available [https://nanosyste.ms/ online at nanosyste.ms]
** Sample chapters and a table of contents are available [http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/Nanosystems/toc.html online at e.drexler.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008162657/http://e-drexler.com/d/06/00/Nanosystems/toc.html |date=2019-10-08 }}
** Drexler's doctoral thesis, ''Molecular Machinery and Manufacturing with Applications to Computation'', an earlier version of the text that became ''Nanosystems'', is available [http://e-drexler.com/d/09/00/Drexler_MIT_dissertation.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717173117/http://e-drexler.com/d/09/00/Drexler_MIT_dissertation.pdf |date=2011-07-17 }}
* ''Engines of Creation 2.0: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology - Updated and Expanded'', K. Eric Drexler, 647 pages, (February 2007)
* ''Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization'', May 7, 2013, {{ISBN|1610391136}}
* ''Reframing Superintelligence: Comprehensive AI Services as General Intelligence'', K. Eric Drexler, Technical Report #2019-1,  Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, 210 pages (2019) [https://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/Reframing_Superintelligence_FHI-TR-2019-1.1-1.pdf]
* ''Molecular Science and Engineering Platform One'' (MSEP.one), (October 2024), [[molecular design software]] and editor,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Drexler |first1=K. Eric |last2=van Braam |first2=H.P. |last3=Ackley |first3=Jonathan |last4=Grzesik |first4=Jakub |last5=Suligoy |first5=Mariano |last6=Mancevics |first6=Janis |last7=Alves |first7=Bruno |url=https://msep.one/ |title=Molecular Systems and Engineering Platform (MSEP.one) |website=MSEP.one |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> [[free and open-source software]] with an [[MIT License]]; built on the [[Godot (game engine)|Godot]] open-source [[game engine]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Drexler |first1=K. Eric |display-authors=etal |date=4 October 2024 |url=https://github.com/MSEP-one |title=MSEP.one: Molecular Science and Engineering Platform One |website=[[GitHub]] |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Chemical vapor deposition]], a type of "vapor phase fabrication"
* [[Foresight Institute]]
* [[AI safety]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20011121205427/http://www.sff.net/people/mberry/nano.htm "The Creator": Interview with Eric Drexler by Michael Berry, 1991]
* ''Nano: The Emerging Science of Nanotechnology'' by Ed Regis, 1995. {{ISBN|0-316-73852-2}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030220060859/http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue22/world.html "The Incredible Shrinking World of Eric Drexler": ''Red Herring'' Interview by Anthony B. Perkins August 1, 1995]
* [https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/drexler.html "The Incredible Shrinking Man: K. Eric Drexler was the godfather of nanotechnology. But the MIT prodigy who dreamed up molecular machines was shoved aside by big science - and now he's an industry outcast." Ed Regis, Wired Magazine, Issue 12.10, October 2004]
* ''Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition'' by Ed Regis, 1990. {{ISBN|0-201-56751-2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* {{official website|http://metamodern.com/about-the-author/}}
* [http://www.nanotech-now.com/whos-who.htm#KEricDrexler Who's Who in the Nanospace]
* {{Triangulation|104}}

{{Future of Humanity Institute}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drexler, K. Eric}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American engineers]]
[[Category:American nanotechnologists]]
[[Category:American non-fiction environmental writers]]
[[Category:American transhumanists]]
[[Category:Cryonicists]]
[[Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni]]