Rob Wood Seminar

I really enjoyed Rob Wood's talk. I think the projects his lab are working on are interesting and I learned a lot of new things during the seminar. I didn't know that microrobotics had come so far, and didn't expect the variety of prototypes they had already built. The production process of folding or "snapping" the pieces into place with one gesture was, I thought, a really creative and ingenious idea. I wish he had more time to go into more detail about the design of the MEMS and the actuators. 

I remembered something that I had read during the discussion, which was about the relationship between quantum physics and transistors. I can't remember the details, but I read that transistors can only get so small before quantum physics comes into play, and they stop working (something about the electrons not being stopped by the "gate"). The theory was that when transistors became this small, Moore's Law would end and we'd have to come up with materials other than silicon to create transistors. The Schon scandal was related to this topic because Schon had claimed he made transistors out of organic dye. Although, I guess this is applicable to the nano scale and not micro scale. Either way, I'm curious to know if they have faced any similar difficulties at such small scales. 

I also found it interesting that so many different departments collaborated to make the projects possible, and that it has a lot to do with understanding the biology of whatever organism they are simulating.