Nanotechnology and the Resource Fallacy

Stephen L. Gillett holds an undergraduate degree in geology from the California Institute of Technology and a PhD, also in geology, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He specialized in applying paleomagnetism, the study of the record of the Earth's ancient magnetic field, to geologic problems. This proved to be a good introduction to interdisciplinary study as this field lies at the intersection of geology, geophysics, solid-state physics, and geochemistry. In the 1980s Steve was deeply involved in applying paleomagnetism to industrial problems, particularly in oil exploration. In the early 1990s he became a research professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he taught undergraduate classes and continued paleomagnetic research. As he realized the profound implications of nanotechnology for environmental and resource issues, however, he changed his research focus accordingly and worked with an organic chemistry research group at UNR on possible prototype technologies. At present he is back in the private sector and involved with some high-technology start-ups.