Keen On… Nanotechnology: How It Changes Everything

Matthew Putman is exactly the kind of interdisciplinary genius one would expect to found a nanotechnology company. A distinguished musician, research scientist, university professor and theater producer, Putman’s latest technology startup is Nanotronics Imaging, a Brooklyn, N.Y. based pioneer of nanotechnology which includes Peter Thiel as an investor and board member.

It may not be a coincidence, either, that Putman’s company is based in Brooklyn. It’s an “incredible hotbed” of technology and creativity, he insists – featuring the most important artists, intellectual innovators and technologists from the maker’s movement. The East Coast is much more exciting than Silicon Valley, Putman says, because it’s more interdisciplinary.

Nanotechnology has been “the dream of every scientist” for the past 50 years, Putman explains. It changes everything, he says – from infinitely extending Moore’s Law to potentially eliminating cancer. And now, he says, this great scientific dream is achievable. By 2014, he promises, companies like Nanotronics Imaging will have truly revolutionized not only the tech world but also medicine and every other industry.