ABOUT

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of computers to perform functions associated with the human brain, including perceiving, reasoning, learning, interacting, problem solving, and exercising creativity.

Biotechnology creates products or services in partnership with biology. Synthetic biology is third-generation biotechnology, complementing domestication and breeding (the first generation) and gene editing (the second generation).

Cryptography is the practice of protecting data from being altered or accessed inappropriately. It is essential for most internet activity, including messaging, e-commerce, and banking. There are two main types of cryptography: symmetric and asymmetric.

Materials science is a foundational technology that underlies advances in many fields, including robotics, space, energy, and synthetic biology.

A brain-machine interface is a device that maps neural impulses from the brain to a computer and vice versa. There are many potential applications for this technology: sensory replacement or augmentation, replacement of severed limbs, direct mind-to-computer interfacing, or even computer assisted memory recall and cognition.

Energy can be produced from two types of nuclear reactions: fission and fusion.

Robotics has and will transform many industries through elimination, modification, or creation of jobs and functions. Robots are human-made physical entities with ways of sensing themselves or the world around them and the ability to create physical effects on that world.

Chips must be designed and then manufactured, calling for two different skill sets. Recent research has identified methods that allow innovations in materials, devices, fabrication, and hardware to be added to existing process or systems at low incremental costs. These methods need to be further developed since they will be essential to continue to improve the computing infrastructure we all depend on.

Space technology is any technology developed for the purpose of conducting or supporting activities beyond the Kármán line (i.e., one hundred kilometers or sixty-two miles above the Earth’s surface).

The transition to sustainable energy relies on improving every step of the energy supply chain, from generation to transmission to storage. However, the sheer scale of global energy needs makes it clear that no single technology can meet these demands.