Duke's golden opportunity

I am a second-semester senior. At times, I've both loved and hated Duke (and mostly tolerated Durham). I've been through three and a half years at Duke. I've seen things we've done well, and I know where we need to improve. President Richard Brodhead has just been reinstated for another four years. My columns this semester will be an attempt to help set the agenda.

Duke must invest its resources in emerging technology fields. It is nearly impossible for Duke to overtake established schools in established fields. Older schools like Harvard and MIT enjoy an insurmountable brand advantage in "traditional" fields like political science and electrical engineering. However, if Duke acts soon, we can be a leader in the fields that will define our future.

Idle curiosity over Winter Break led me to a book that transformed my perspective on the future. "The Singularity Is Near" by Ray Kurzweil predicts how three technological revolutions will fundamentally change humanity at an accelerating rate over the next 40 years. These technologies are genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. They offer unprecedented benefits and pose an unprecedented existential threat.

To explain simply: genetics, the manipulation of genetic code, offers personalized drugs and organs as well as custom-designed biological weapons. Nanotechnology, controlling matter at the atomic scale, makes both superconductors and malevolent nanoscale robots probable. Robotics, working towards greater artificial intelligence and mind-machine interfacing, could offer a work-free paradise or a Terminator-like dystopia.

Part of these technologies' immense power comes from their ability to harness self-replication. A small colony of genetically engineered bacteria dropped on an oil spill can grow to clean it all up. Like a superior immune system, a few nanobots circling in the bloodstream can multiply upon spotting a cancerous growth and destroy it. Extraterrestrial resources could be harvested cheaply by launching a robot that could copy itself. But this very strength poses an existential threat to humanity, because of the potential for exponential growth to get out of control.

Because of this danger, the science of these fields cannot be studied separately from the public policy.

In "Engines of Creation," the father of nanotechnology, Eric Drexler, describes one doomsday scenario involving "enhanced" bacteria. These "super-bacteria" could out-compete natural bacteria, carving a path of devastation across the planet. And this disaster would not work indirectly through some planet-wide food web; depending on the extent of genetic engineering, the bacteria, replicating at exponential rates, could actually devour most life on Earth within a month.

So how does Duke fit into this equation? Right now, Duke has the opportunity to own the intellectual marketplace in two of these three critical fields. There is a closing window of opportunity for Duke to become the number one "brand" in genetics and nanotechnology. In genetics, we already have a significant lead with a great graduate program and the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy. We are also doing excellent research in nanotechnology, with Associate Professor of Chemistry Jie Liu pioneering commercially important manufacturing processes for nanotubes.

Unfortunately, while we do have some outstanding research in robotics as well, Duke will simply never have a better robotics "brand" than Carnegie Mellon, Stanford or MIT. Therefore, Duke should focus its energy and investment into genetics and nanotechnology.

Duke's established departments are already busy bickering over the $30 million dollars designated for hiring 40 new faculty members. I recommend that Duke use this money to start two schools of genetics and nanotechnology based on the model of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. There is a vacuum here at the nexus between science and policy, especially in these fields. Like the Nicholas School, the schools of genetics and nanotechnology should marry groundbreaking research with credible policy recommendations.

Being first to create full-spectrum schools, with everything from undergraduate majors to a dean, would give Duke a tremendous first-mover advantage in these fields. Many universities, like Cornell and North Carolina State University, currently have programs in genetics and nanotechnology, but they lack undergraduate opportunities, funding and support. They are little more than specialized biology certificates.

By dedicating entire schools to these technologies, Duke would be known as the "go-to" institution for these important fields. When Congress has a question about genetics or nanotechnology, a Duke professor would be the first one asked to testify. Similarly, by allocating funding for these schools, Duke would be able to attract and retain the top talent in these fields.

It is an exciting time in genetics and nanotechnology. Duke has a good chance to own the intellectual marketplace in both fields. I hope we have the foresight to seize this opportunity. The future is ours to lose.

Adam Zell is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Wednesday.

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