Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich - who regularly
provides political commentary to Fox News Channel - has been named
honorary chairman of the NanoBusiness Alliance, a trade association for
companies and institutions advancing nanotechnology in a number of fields,
including cable.
The alliance, which opened its New York headquarters earlier this fall
and will soon launch a Washington office, has been in touch with a number
of start-up companies with cable intentions.
'We've notified some industry entities about them,' NanoBusiness
Alliance executive director Mark Modzelewski said. 'Most of these
companies are still defining their cable role and how to play it.'
Modzelewski did not identify Cable Television Laboratories Inc., the
industry's research-and-development facility, as a notified party. Some of
the cable-oriented start-ups will begin publicizing themselves over the
first half of 2002, alliance officials added.
Nanotechnology is the ability to harness atoms and molecules of
nanometer proportions (1,000th of a micron) to produce services and
materials in fields ranging from medicine to manufacturing. Gingrich, who
championed increased government funds for nanotech as House speaker from
1995 to 1999, will maintain his Fox News Channel schedule.
'I'm looking forward to the process,' Gingrich said during a Thursday
conference call with reporters attending the Fall Internet World
conference at New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center. 'I'm just
trying to educate the public' on what's possible out of nanotech.
'You'd be startled by the number of breakthroughs available,' he said.
'This is a revolution comparable to physics in the last century, but it
will happen faster and happen globally.'
A recent National Science Federation study concluded that
nanotech-based products and services would foster $1 trillion in annual
U.S. revenues by 2015. Venture-capital institutions are projected to make
$1 billion in nanotech investments next
year.
