NER: Universally Programmable Intelligent Matter

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

CCR-0210094 MacLennan, Bruce NER: "NER: Universally Programmable Intelligent Matter" Intelligent matter is any material in which individual molecules or supra-molecular clusters function as agents to accomplish some purpose. Intelligent matter may be solid, liquid or gaseous, although liquids and membranes are perhaps most typical. Universally programmable intelligent matter is made from a small set of molecular building blocks that are universal in the sense that they can be rearranged to accomplish any purpose that can be described by a computer program. In effect, a computer program controls the behavior of the material at the molecular level. In some applications the molecules self-assemble a desired nanostructure by "computing" the structure and then becoming inactive. In other applications the material remains active so that it can respond, at the molecular level, to its environment or to other external conditions. An extreme case is when programmable supra-molecular clusters act as autonomous agents to achieve some end. Accomplishing the goals of universally programmable intelligent matter will require the identification of a small set of molecular building blocks that is computationally universal. The SK calculus (a kind of combinatory logic) is a formal system that demonstrates that such sets exist. It is capable of universal computation, but makes use of only two simple operations on graphs, which are suggestive of molecular processes. Computer scientists have investigated the SK calculus extensively for several decades as a basis for massively parallel computer architectures, and the translation of high-level functional computer programs into SK structures is well understood. However, the SK calculus may not be the best choice for programmable intelligent matter. This exploratory research project has four principal objectives: (1) to develop a model of computation compatible with the constraints of molecular processes; (2) to identify at least two universal sets of building blocks for programmable intelligent matter; (3) to develop methods for interfacing with additional molecular building blocks for sensing conditions and causing effects in the external environment; (4) to develop prototype simulation software to investigate characteristics peculiar to molecular computation. Some of the methods are theoretical: (1) the construction of a mathematical model of computation compatible with the constraints of molecular processes, and (2) a mathematical investigation of the properties (such as computational universality) of some simple graph operations resulting in at least two universal sets of building blocks. The theoretical investigation will be supplemented by (3) the development of simulation software to investigate stochastic and other novel factors affecting computation in a molecular context, and (4) the use of the simulator to demonstrate the use of programmable intelligent matter to implement several useful nanostructures, such as nanotubes and membranes with active channels and cilia. Since the resulting building blocks for universal programmable matter are expected to be individually simple and few in number, this project will provide the information needed by chemists to identify or synthesize the substances sufficient to implement universally programmable intelligent matter. This will open the way toward the ability to produce materials with a desired nanostructure and behavior as easily as we program computers today. This project will take a first step toward a systematic approach to nanotechnology that will failitate its rapid development.