Meet the Chaiman

Contact Steve Watson, swatson@hcsd4.org, 281-389-7567

    If you held the knowledge that a revolutionary new technology was capable of enhancing the quality of life for everyone on the planet…if you had an absolute conviction that you were looking down the timeline into the inevitable future…what would you do?

 As the theme of his upcoming "NANOTECH 2002" conference indicates, Steve R. Watson is a man "At the Edge of Revolution."  A man who is convinced nanotechnology has the almost limitless capacity to literally transform and improve life on this planet. He is riding the rising tide of the nanotech revolution, and his mission is to empower the rest of us to comprehend his vision and its inherent possibilities.

 Watson's answer to the challenge was to establish The Center for NanoSpace Technologies, Inc., of which he is CEO and co-founder. The Center, along with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is hosting Watson's fourth conference in September to foster the dissemination of knowledge and the promotion of research and development in this emerging technology.  "Papers will be presented that identify the challenges and issues associated with the application of micro/nano technologies in these topical areas: Aerospace, Energy, Life Sciences and Transportation.

 As an electronics engineer and program director with the CIA and NASA, Watson was deeply involved in the development of devices employing nanoscience which were years, if not a full decade, ahead of others engaged in the world's research and development competition.

 "I knew…I could tell." Watson said the tremendous possibilities intrinsic to this odd and exciting new science, which was operating on an infinitely small scale and expanding the limits of scientific knowledge, were explicitly clear to him. With an engineering background and as a CIA alumnus, Watson is not given to inexact hyperbole, and would certainly deny experiencing a blinding flash of insight about this newly emerging technology.

 When did the revelation dawn, then?  Although he had known of work in the field, it was not until he was working on a classified aerospace project in 1989, that "I saw what was being done in the lab to decrease the size and weight of the devices, and it was amazing. I would drop by the labs and see what was being worked on.  The research scientists were solely focused on the immediate task, but I said, `Wait a minute!' I saw the possibilities and potentialities.  Not many would listen to me, even the scientists involved, but I knew I was looking at the future."

In retrospect, it would seem that Watson's entire life experiences have contrived to prepare him for his chosen mission. Born in Tennessee, he was a toddler when the Watson's moved to Florida and then on to Texas, following his stepdad's relocations as a vice president of Humble Oil, later Exxon.  Watson recalls he was one of those kids who dismantled the family clocks and radios to puzzle out their inner workings…presaging the engineer he would become.

 A gifted athlete, he excelled in many sports, playing on the football team at Sam Rayburn High School in Pasadena, a suburban area of Houston. Then, along with so many of his contemporaries in 1969, Watson enlisted. Watson noted that, "There were no draft deferments for college in those days of Vietnam." The Air Force promptly placed him in the field of electronic communication for intelligence purposes…another brick in the foundation.

 From the Air Force he moved on as a civilian to NASA and arc-jet/vacuum chamber testing of the Space Shuttle heat shield, Watson said, outlining a brief bio run-through. From NASA, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the title of Technical Operations Officer and became the Operations Manager/Operative.  As Watson's resume explains, that meant: "…the deployment of intelligence collection devices into hostile environments abroad, during which decision-making and "hands-on" expertise were key elements. Both of which were typically under pressure and time critical, requiring astute judgment to ensure operation, as well as personal, security and effectiveness." (You are invited to read between the lines.)

 While having his hair trimmed one day he fell into conversation, and then into love, with the lady with the scissors. They were wed in 1975 and embarked on a peripatetic marriage and a multiplicity of moves dictated by Watson's assignments. "I left Houston in '75 and returned in `97. Some of the time was spent in Washington, but much of it was overseas," Watson understated. He recalled transporting his bride to Europe and being forced to desert her in a strange land by immediately departing for places he still can't reveal. Hailing from a military family and having a father in Army Intelligence, surely helped prepare his patient wife, Muriel, for coping with a husband who often was absent for unpredictable times and to unknown places.

     Along the way, (one wonders when there was time) Watson picked up several degrees in Science and Engineering, focusing on Electronics. After eight years, and assignments in more than 80 countries in Europe, Asia and the Mid East, Watson returned to working with spacecraft as Spacecraft Manager in the CIA's Office of Development and Engineering. Some of his key responsibilities included the management of ultra-classified spacecraft "deliverables" during fabrication, testing and deployment.

     As Program Manager, Watson then moved into the CIA STARFEEL (Steerable Array Feed Electronics) space program centered on .25 micron Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC).  "This was the first significant use of .25 micron technology…it was years ahead of its industry applications."  Watson was responsible for everything in the $50 million dollar project from design to manufacture to operational readiness.

     The next step was directorship of the CIA's multi-million dollar Space Systems Group, designated NRO/SIGINT Research and Development. NRO is the National Reconnaissance Office, which designs, builds and operates the nation's reconnaissance satellites.  "The Quantum Program for nanotechnology was funded at about $10 million from `93 to '96." Watson commented. "They probably made more progress in nanotechnology in those three years than all the years preceding…13 patents in the first year." All classified beyond belief, of course, but Watson could say that he was involved with commercial technical markets in nano-electronics technology to exploit revolutionary development processes including Nano-Satellites, terra-bit memory, re-configurable logic, and more.

     Retirement in 1996 led to a stint with the Naval Research Laboratories as a senior Advisor/Consultant for the CIA during which time Watson said he was a  "catalyst for the entrance of the NRL into the nanotechnology arena."  Then back to NASA at the Johnson Space Center as a consulting engineer performing research to support NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space in developing the Space Station, the Space Shuttle, and the Lunar/Mars advanced technology applications. The redesign of the Manned Space Suit; the establishment of a nanotechnology computer-based training course for scientists and engineers, and tracking down applicable technologies in technology centers nationwide were also included in his job description.

     By 1998, Watson and his associates chartered the non-profit, The Center for NanoSpace Technologies, Inc., (www.nanospace.org) to "conceive, establish, and conduct cutting edge technology research and development. These technologies are then infused into the Aerospace, Education, Energy, Life Sciences and Shipping and Transportation industries."
 
      Now in the year 2002, Watson's life style could be an advertisement for the contented government service retiree.  Home is on Lake Houston in the small town of Huffman. He and Muriel are golfers, and their house is conveniently adjacent to a golf course where he volunteers every Sunday. Their son, Christopher, 23 and a university sophomore majoring in physics, also excels in athletics, garnering black belts in seven different martial art forms.  

As idyllic as it sounds, Watson says he works as hard now as he ever has in his life, for his commitment to nanotechnology is an imperative that demands his constant attention and efforts. In conjunction with his efforts to bring nanoscience to popular consciousness is the second arm of his mission: To seed a nano industry in Houston to advantageously position the city as a leader in the coming decades of fast-paced change and discovery in nanotechnology.  

 "It's going to happen.  The train has left the station. We are living in a technical society.  Technology got us through the 20th century.  Now we are approaching a brick wall in terms of production capabilities as downsizing of technology, such as MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), reaches the limits of what can be manufactured.  There has to be a whole new approach and that new approach is nanotechnology.  It is the next Industrial Revolution, and you better follow or get out of the way."

 In times of changing technologies, Watson notes, power changes hands. Some large companies will fall and some small ones will rise. Those with their heads in the sand and who do not realize the potentials of nanotechnology will not prosper. Watson is adamant that Houston must lead in this new arena.

 Sliding his coffee cup aside on the table and leaning forward, Watson emphasized, "People need to know about nanoscience. Teens know more than adults, having absorbed it through science fiction and having a scientific openness."  It is Watson's belief that foreknowledge is being forearmed, and that an informed public awareness will contribute to our ability to make wiser decisions when we face the myriad forms nanotechnology will assume.

 At nanosize, "our understanding of the laws of physics changes." He defined nanoscience as pure research and technical development of devices in the sub-micron scale…a 10th of a micron or smaller… or "itty bitty," he said with a grin, "It's a size thing," he added.

    " The life sciences will be one of the major benefactors.  Check the programs at Rice University and Texas Medical Center where they are collaborating on applications and research in biomedical projects. The potential in Aerospace Industry is enormous. Everything is size, weight and power…the big three payoffs in nanotechnology.  The old guard needs to wake up. Nanotechnology is an infant science.  If, and when, it reaches maturity…watch out!" Watson briefly falls silent, cognizant of the endless possibilities.

 Asked for an example of an immediate "for instance," Watson gestured with his hands and arms, outlining a huge orb; and then he swung his hands together to cup an imaginary eight-inch circle. "A satellite that weighs 5,000 pounds could be downsized to the size of a grapefruit, or less, and do the same job."  Imagine what that would mean to the astronauts who now have to manhandle unwieldy orbiters to deploy them from the space shuttle. It would cut the risk factor significantly."
 
   One area that could be vastly improved is the manned space system…especially the extra vehicular activities or "space walks," he said. Astronauts are presently encased in suits that weigh 250 pounds. New lightweight nanotechnology-engineered suits could be custom tailored to each astronaut's needs, and particular size and shape, he said. Having been intimately involved in space suit design, Watson was particularly sympathetic to female astronauts whose comfort could be radically improved.  "Beneath the suit the astronauts essentially wear long johns, and yards of water hoses encircle their bodies to cool them; transceivers are the size of bread boxes."  Nanotechnology could not only provide more ease and comfort, but would significantly increase the ability to perform tasks in space, he pointed out.

 Small cameras are now being swallowed by patients, which enables physicians to gaze upon interior areas hitherto unseen by the human eye, but Watson predicts vast improvements are in the offing. " Electronics the size of a vitamin, but far superior to those in use today in biomedicals will be carrying different types of sensors…some that can detect cancer and chemicals that will treat on the spot. Not just cameras, which are limited to surface observations but also infrared.  We will have smaller, smarter devices that will detect, analyze, and report," he emphasized.  

    "And that is only half of the equation. Imagine being able to heal at the molecular level, to fix the problem…close the loop…at the molecular level using remote or autonomous devices, Watson said.  The Center for NanoSpace Technologies website at http://www.nanospace.org offers a wide array of advances headed our way, to wit: Wearable stamp-size health monitors, patch-sized transmitters, peel-n-stick omnipresent detectors, implantable or wearable microscopic diagnostic hardware, restorative hearing aid patch, implantable neuro-controls, and limb prosthetics.

 And Watson can envision nanotechnology-enhanced virtual reality applications in the medical field where virtual reality is now used in treatment in areas such as clinical diagnosis and physical rehabilitation, the alleviation of chronic pain, post-traumatic disorders, phobias, autism and brain injuries, to list a few.

 "Technology is really fast paced.  What is developed today will be out (on the market) next week. What I was working with in `89 was not open to public awareness until maybe `95 or `96.  The market has been slowed by the need to make a profit."  Watson hopes to speed the process.

 "I have a plan for a 100,000 square foot center - a foundation for nano - like Silicon Valley, and it is implementable now. What I want to do is bridge between the ideas and the production." He cited the need for his lab rats, an affectionate term for those laboring in pure research.  "And we need the applications people…those who can identify the practical applications of the research, those who can say, Give me that, and I know what to do with it."

 The people who take the research and develop uses for it speak a different language than the people in business, those with the venture capital, and I want to get them together to talk to each other. That is where NanoTech 2002 will do an excellent job. We need to throw these people in the same room at the same time.  VCs need to see the projects…specific science projects that are being worked on…and the scientists need to be there to demonstrate and explain."

  Watson's understanding of the concepts and the potentials of nanoscience is so vast that he consciously limits his interests to a relatively few projects.  Within the span of a few minutes he mentioned subjects ready for development ranging from space jaunts to corn fields, from bomb detection to cancer detection, from animal husbandry to keeping children safe.  

  His consuming life's work is to bring nanotechnology "from concept to reality, from fiction to fact," as he says. He counts more than 30 engineered studies, bound and waiting on his shelves for cognition to spark in some venture capitalist's or entrepreneur's awareness that these products will produce profitable returns, and that most have the capacity to benefit mankind.

 "The Center is non-profit.  We take a nano-related idea in any emerging technology and pursue that idea up through Proof of Concept…and then we give it away. We license it and collect a small royalty, which is a residual for income to turn back into developing more concepts."

 Take the `Sniffer," he said.  A device a million times more sensitive than a search dog's nose, that can detect the a bomb by singling out molecules on the order of a few parts per trillion without going near the explosives, or locate persons trapped under buildings.  Rhetorically, Watson asked how many lives could be saved and lethal bombs detected if the Sniffer was operational now.

    Another tiny device could identify a child's location at all times using a Global  Positioning  System. "It would keep your child safe, and why not extend the technology to our pets? Canine collars can be punched out like cookies and animals could be tracked.  That would keep handlers safe, for dogs can go where people can't venture in search and rescue missions.  Ninety-nine percent of the projects will benefit people.  I would like to see nano help save lives."

 Another concept awaiting development is a hand-held detector approximately the size of a cigarette pack which is capable of zeroing in on viruses.  Noting that twenty percent of all crop losses are caused by viruses, Watson explained how farmers inspect their fields. If they spy a suspicious plant, they pluck it, mail it to the lab along with $50 to $75, and then wait up to two weeks for an analysis while the unknown virus culprit goes on a spree.  With the device a farmer could stroll through his fields checking the cornrows for all known corn viruses even before the plant wilts and treat the problem immediately.
 
 "This is Phase One, the diagnosing of plants,"  Watson said.

 Phase Two is doing the same thing for animals such as poultry and livestock. Treating only the ill animals could reduce the blanket use of antibiotics.

  Phase Three is the extension of the technology to humans, resulting in the saving of lives, medicines, time and money. "The concept is sitting on a shelf…and that is frustrating, he said. "It is difficult to find a problem that cannot be solved by nanotechnology. The applications are endless - I've probably given away more ideas in conversation than I'm working on."

 Will the task be too arduous? Too complicated? Does golf lure him? Leaning back in the chair, his head tilted a bit to the side, Watson declared, "I'm not planning on quitting anytime soon." The "NanoTech 2002" conference and The Center for NanoSpace Technologies are concrete proof of his intent. The stakes for society are too high to walk away from, and the man has a mission to complete.