Nanotechnology and Homeland Security: New Weapons for New Wars

Foreword

Mark Ratner has been associated with nanostructures for quite some time; his work in molecular electronics started in the early 1970s. I was privileged to meet Mark in the late 80s because one of my Naval Research Laboratory employees, Dr. Forrest Carter, was championing the topic of molecular electronics. Our relationship expanded in the 90s when Northwestern won a Department of Defense (DoD) multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI) project involving nanostructures. My association with Mark merited an early copy of the Ratners’ first book, Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea. It was so well written that I have used it as a model to emulate by the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office staff. ...