Early this week I am in Albuquerque attending the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Forum. This very fine two-day conference features programs on developments in nanotech, including the most current research and commercialization activities.

Today, the first day, Steve Forbes was able to present for an hour, and provide a wide-ranging overview of what he believes about not just the tech future but the U.S. and global economy. Bottom lines: he sees the current climate for technology development as perhaps the best ever, rivaling the time when electricity, autos, radio and all the rest of the key 20th Century developments were happening early in the last century. As for the U.S. economy, he is concerned but not overly so by the subprime debt crisis, seeing the actual numbers as being small in comparison to the size of the economy. But, fear, uncertainty and doubt will probably make our reaction such that the problem is worsened. Personally, I think he may be a little too sanquine on this issue, but we will see who is right in 2008. One more thing he emphasized, and no surprise, is the way that the U.S. must get its science and technology act together to stay competetive with a racing world.

As the nanotech programs went along over the day, it became clear in a way that it had not to me before that we are not talking about a new field of science at all, but rather the ultimate convergence point of existing sciences, physics, materials, biology, chemistry, engineering. In a program on nanotech tools, we heard from companies like Vecco Instruments, the FEI Company, and Molecular Imprints about advances in tools for real time molecular and atomic imaging, and for manipulation at the molecular scale that do indeed suggest that the convergence of these sciences is just beginning. And the ability to implement specific molecular recipes means wonderfully different properties for materials at very large scales, like paper or concrete.

One of the most exciting presentations included descriptions by Anthony Atala, Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine of progress being made in using one’s own cells to re-generate, for example, minature kidneys that will one day lead, it looks like, to safe and effective transplants.

Toward the end of the day we got an update from Alan Gotcher of AltairNano regarding their development and testing of Nanosafe batteries for vehicles (some five auto companies now involved), and of stationary power systems. Regarding the latter by next summer AltairNano will ship a 20MW stationary battery. And, by the way, Alan told me later in conversation that a plug-in electric vehicle with their Nanosafe battery pack would be able to power a house for a week or two in an emergency. All of those who live in storm country, take note.

I will summarize more after tomorrow, which will include a visit to the nanotech center at Sandia National Labs. And I will have stores about nanopaper and about some amazing developments in water filtration using carbon nanotubes. Oh, and did you know that carbon nanotubes which cost $270 an ounce five years ago now cost 20 cents an ounce. That’s progres.