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Beratan, Jim Birnie, Lukas Braunschweiler, Joseph C. Breunig, Gary Calabrese, E. J. Corey, Marijn E. Dekkers, Michael P. Doyle, Arthur B. Ellis, Robin L. Garrell, James R. Heath, Rebecca Hoye, Nancy B. Jackson, Harry Kroto, Aslam Malik, Eli Pearce, Marquita M. Qualls, Paul J. Reider, Sara J. Risch, Alan Shaw, Kevan M. Shokat, Rakesh (Ricky) S. Sikand, Pratibha Varma-Nelson, George Whitesides, Frank Wicks Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Madeleine Jacobs, Executive Director & CEO Brian Crawford, President, Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD: John N. Russell Jr. (Chair); ACS Board <strong>of</strong> Directors Chair: Judith L. Benham; ACS President: Bruce E. Bursten; Ned D. Heindel, Madeleine M. Joullie, Leah Solla, Peter J. Stang Copyright 2008, American <strong>Chemical</strong> Society Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347 Volume 86, Number 15 Grand Science Challenges ONE OF THE NUMEROUS presidential events at last week’s ACS national meeting in New Orleans was a session titled “Energy Research: Future Challenges & Opportunities.” The symposium was jointly sponsored by ACS and the American <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Chemical</strong> Engineers (see page 10). The keynote speaker at the session was Raymond L. Orbach, undersecretary for science at the Department <strong>of</strong> Energy. In his talk, Orbach said there are “two questions that loom over humanity today: How will we supply all this needed new energy, and how can we do so without adding dangerously to atmospheric greenhouse gases? “The energy and environmental challenge confronting us in the century ahead is truly monumental. It may be one <strong>of</strong> the biggest challenges humanity has ever faced. “Incremental improvements in our current technologies will not be enough to meet this challenge. To provide an answer to these two great questions, we will need transformational breakthroughs in basic science that provide the foundation for truly disruptive technologies that fundamentally change the rules <strong>of</strong> the game.” During his talk, Orbach referred to a January 2008 DOE report, “Directing Matter & Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination.” The report was prepared by the Subcommittee on Grand Challenges for Basic Energy Sciences, which was cochaired by Graham Fleming, a chemistry pr<strong>of</strong>essor at the University <strong>of</strong> California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Mark A. Ratner, a chemistry pr<strong>of</strong>essor at Northwestern University. It is a remarkable document. In many places it reads more like a physical chemistry textbook than a DOE report. I do not say that in a pejorative way—I found “Directing Energy & Matter” to be one <strong>of</strong> the more engaging and enlightening scientific reports I’ve read in some time. “It is frequently said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” the report begins. “Modern science stands at the beginning <strong>of</strong> what might seem by today’s standards to be an almost magical leap forward in our understanding and control <strong>of</strong> matter, energy, and information at the molecular and atomic levels.” The report continues: “For the future, WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 3 APRIL 14, 2008 FROM THE EDITOR imagine a clean, cheap, and virtually unlimited supply <strong>of</strong> electrical power from solarenergy systems modeled on the photosynthetic processes utilized by green plants, and power lines that could transmit this electricity from the deserts <strong>of</strong> the Southwest to the Eastern Seaboard at nearly 100% efficiency. Imagine information and communications systems based on light rather than electrons that could predict when and where hurricanes make landfall, along with self-repairing materials that could survive those hurricanes. Imagine synthetic materials fully compatible and able to communicate with biological materials. This is speculative, to be sure, but not so very far beyond the scope <strong>of</strong> possibilities.” The five grand challenges laid out and discussed in detail in the report are the following: ■ How do we control material processes at the level <strong>of</strong> electrons? ■ How do we design and perfect atom- and energy-efficient synthesis <strong>of</strong> revolutionary new forms <strong>of</strong> matter with tailored properties? ■ How do remarkable properties <strong>of</strong> matter emerge from complex correlations <strong>of</strong> the atomic or electronic constituents and how can we control these properties? ■ How can we master energy and information on the nanoscale to create new technologies with capabilities rivaling those <strong>of</strong> living things? ■ How do we characterize and control matter away—especially very far away—from equilibrium. Each <strong>of</strong> these challenges is discussed in detail in the following chapters <strong>of</strong> the report. Chapter 2, for example, on the quantum control <strong>of</strong> electrons in atoms, molecules, and materials, discusses the transition from a science <strong>of</strong> understanding how electrons behave in materials to a new science <strong>of</strong> quantum control in which the properties <strong>of</strong> materials are engineered through direct manipulation <strong>of</strong> electrons. It is a challenging and visionary report that is well worth your time. Thanks for reading. Editor-in-chief Views expressed on this page are those <strong>of</strong> the author and not necessarily those <strong>of</strong> ACS.
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