Support is requested for the participation of ~15 researchers from US academic institutions for a three-day workshop, ``Advances in Molecular Programming and Computing: Toward Chemistry as a New Information Technology'', that aims to assess the current state, prospects, and challenges in this new research area. A similar number of researchers from European and Asian countries will be participating, supported by other funding sources. Participation from key industry representatives will also be encouraged.
The objective of the workshop is to articulate a vision for the advancement of the information science and technology aspects of molecular chemistry and biochemistry, ranging from molecular devices to DNA nanotechnology to synthetic biology as well as related areas involving information processing and programmability within engineered (and natural) molecular / chemical / biological systems. The concrete goal is to bring this emerging frontier more prominently to the attention of both US and non-US funding agencies, to explore it from theoretical, scientific, technological, and application perspectives, and to provide an unbiased assessment of its potential and challenges that will inform future decision-making. Through a written report, published along with original research and opinion articles as a formal proceedings, the workshop will explore how chemical and biochemical substrates might emerge as a new information technology in the coming century, and help articulate the challenges, the potential, and the need for vigorous research activity in this area, with an emphasis on how researchers (and funding agencies) with deep experience in information science and technology will be integral to developing this frontier.
Intellectual Merit: Molecular programming will provide new insights and solutions to grand challenges in biology, chemistry, materials science, and medicine. In manufacturing it will enable fabrication of complex products from the bottom-up (e.g., programmable materials and devices grown from molecules); in biological engineering it will bring deeper computer science principles to the design of programmable subsystems within living cells. The knowledge gained will clarify the relationship between computation and the physical world---how information can be stored and processed by molecules, the limits of what can be computed and fabricated, and how quickly computation or fabrication can be done for a given energetic cost. While molecular programming will leverage existing tools from computer science, control theory, electrical engineering, and bioengineering, it will also require new approaches to analyzing complex programs, circuits, and networks of molecules.
Broader Impact: This workshop will expand the network of scientists and engineers working in molecular programming and bring together a diverse community of researchers who will, over time, build this field.
: Toward Chemistry as a New Information Technology", that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 2-4, 2013. The objective of the workshop was to articulate a vision for the advancement of the information science and technology aspects of molecular chemistry and biochemistry, ranging from molecular devices to DNA nanotechnology to synthetic biology as well as related areas involving information processing and programmability within engineered (and natural) molecular / chemical / biological systems. The concrete goal was to bring this emerging frontier more prominently to the attention of both US and non-US funding agencies, to explore it from theoretical, scientific, technological, and application perspectives, and to provide an unbiased assessment of its potential and challenges that will inform future decision-making. The workshop aimed to explore how chemical and biochemical substrates might emerge as a new information technology in the coming century, and help articulate the challenges, the potential, and the need for vigorous research activity in this area, with an emphasis on how researchers (and funding agencies) with deep experience in information science and technology will be integral to developing this frontier. The workshop was organized by Erik Winfree of Caltech and Kurt Gothelf of Aarhus University, with 43 participants from the US, Canada, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, and Switzerland. Researchers at the workshop represented a wide range of relevance fields (chemistry, computer science, physics, biology...) and career stages (postdocs, assistant professors, tenured professors, researchers in industry). 23 talks were given, with topics ranging including: programmable DNA strand displacement circuits, engineering circuits in living cells, designed molecular pattern formation, molecular fabrication of microprocessors, and fundamental theoretical questions. Part of the workshop activities was discussion in focus groups on 5 general topics in molecular programming and computing: (1) Theory for molecular information systems, (2) Modeling, analysis, and specification, (3) Architectures for and applications in biology, biotechnology, and medicine, (4) Architectures for and applications in chemistry, physics, and materials, and (5) Technology for molecular programming and computing. On the last day of the workshop, discussion group leaders summarized the findings of their working groups; these notes will be combined into a single readable report for NSF. An interview with Kurt Gothelf can be found here: http://ufm.dk/en/newsroom/news/2013/denmark-hosts-international-workshop-on-molecular-programing
