Nanotech Looms Large

Hongjie Dai first turned his nano-technology research into patents for Stanford University, where he's an assistant professor. Now, with $2 million from an angel investor, he's parlayed licenses for the patents into a private company, Molecular Nanosystems. The seven-person Palo Alto, Calif., startup launched last week.

Nanotechnology is the science of building computers and their components at the molecular level with nano-tubes. They're stronger than steel, 2 millionths of a millimeter around, and conduct electricity extremely well, says chief operating officer Bert Forna-ciari. The company is working on commercial applications in biotechnology, chemistry, and electronics. Fornaciari envisions nanotubes yielding chemical or gas sensors and cheap, low-power flat-panel displays for PDAs.