Micro Electro Mechanical Systems—Systems Engineering’s Transition into the Nanoworld

The start of the endeavor into the micro-and nanoworld is probably considered by many to be Richard Feynman’s “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” presentation during a meeting of the American Physical Society in 1959. He challenged the audience to design and build a tiny motor to fit into a cube 1/64th of an inch or to write the contents of a book at a scale 1/25,000 onto a small surface, and he offered prizes for his challenges. Using conventional tools, William McLellan was able to readily meet the first challenge. However, advancements in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology were required to allow Tom Newman at Stanford, Palo Alto, California, to fulfill the second challenge.