Ways to bring about better living through chemistry, the state
of the art in brain research and the challenges of creating a
single-electron transistor were explored on May 10 during the
2000 Research Directors Conference sponsored by MIT's Industrial
Liaison Program.  Speaking on future challenges in their fields
as part of a special focus on the sciences were Stephen J.
Lippard, the Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry and
department head; Mriganka Sur, the Sherman Fairchild Professor
of Neuroscience and head of brain and cognitive sciences; and
Marc A. Kastner, the Donner Professor of Physics, head of
physics and director of the Center for Materials Science.
Professor Lippard compared the work of chemists manipulating
atoms to create new substances with that of artists creating new
works. "Since human imagination has no boundaries, the field of
chemistry can never be considered mature," he said.  To predict
the direction of its future, however, he polled his colleagues
around the country for a "wish l