SAN JOSE, Calif. -- "Nanotechnology is so small, it can play handball on the curb."

Actually, it's smaller. One nanometer is about 10 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. The sub-molecular technology centers on the precise structuring and control of matter on a molecular level.

But the Nanotech Planet Spring 2002 Conference & Expo is big.

The three-day conference sponsored by INT Media Group, the parent company of Internet.com and this site, is the place where experts from government labs, leading industrial thinkers, distinguished academicians, technology transfer experts, economic development specialists, venture capitalists and intellectual property specialists are getting together to swap information about how it works, how to make money at it, and which companies are leading the charge.

Coincidentally, the technology and study of the subject is sort of a pet project of INT Media CEO Alan Meckler.

"I was reading an article about nanotechnology in a magazine back in 1991 and was fascinated by the applications it had for technology," said Meckler. "At the time, it really didn't seem applicable to what we were doing in the Internet community, but I always kept it on the back burner. Now the times have changed and there is more interest in it by the IT community."

That community includes not only traditional technology companies such as IBM, Intel and Hewlett-Packard but nanotech pure-plays like Altair, Nanogen Inc., and Nanophase Technologies.

The Big Picture

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Currently, nanotech applications are being designed for semiconductors, environmental clean-up, and fiber optic switching. Some of the first nanotech products are likely to target the bio-medical sector. The thinking is that medical nanorobots injected into the bloodstream could help with human and animal cellular repair, and drug delivery systems.

According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative for the government's 2003 fiscal budget, President Bush is requesting about $710 million ($679 million reported on February 4, 2002, plus $31 million in associated programs at NASA and USDA) for federal investment in nanoscale science, engineering and technology. That's a 17 percent increase over 2002. This year's nanoscale R&D budget appropriated by congress will easily hit the $604 million mark.

Three new R&D areas of focused are planned in all federal departments and agencies: manufacturing processes at the nanoscale, use of nanotechnology for chemical-biological-radioactive-explosive detection and protection, and development of instrumentation and metrology at the nanoscale.

This week's show follows a successful debut show in Boston in November 2001.

"Nanotechnology market applications are rapidly developing in biomedicine, computing, telecommunications, materials sciences and environmental products," said Meckler. "This San Jose event, along with shows in Germany, Singapore and Australia, make INT Media Group the largest producer of quality Nanotechnology trade shows worldwide. Our events bring together public and private sector experts focused on the commercialization of this exploding new industry and provide valuable insight on how to capitalize on it."