NANO: WHERE ART MEETS SCIENCE

August 18, 2004
		Through an interactive exhibit, professors James Gimzewski and Victoria Vesna from the University of California at Los Angeles hope to inform visitors about the basics and uses of nanotechnology. The two answer your questions on nanotechnology, and how art can help us better understand the complex field.

Online NewsHour Special Report: Nanotechnology: Where Art and Science Meet Forum Introduction What are the potential applications for nanotechnology in medical science? What are some examples of the use of nanotechnology in practical applications today? What about the dangers of novel, tiny molecular assemblages interacting in unforeseen ways with the biota? What are the theological implications of nanotechnology? Is this exhibit going to be traveling to other art museums or "nano" conferences around the country?	A new exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, called "Nano," merges art and science to explain the basics of nanotechnology. The prefix "nano" means "one-billionth," and nanoscience studies materials with minute dimensions. The field is considered to be a new wave of science and technology that may eventually affect many aspects of our lives. Through art-making exhibits, visitors can experience what it's like to move molecules and manipulate atoms one by one. The show brings together computing, nanoscience, molecular biology and art. James Gimzewski, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA, and Victoria Vesna, artist and chairwoman of the UCLA Department of Design/Media Arts, spearheaded the project. Can art succeed in making science more understandable? What can a hands-on experience teach us about nanotechnology's possible uses? Gimzewski and Vesna answer your questions.