Tuesday, October 04, 2005

A long break....

Sorry for the long break. It's been a very busy time in academia. I did finally finish my 100 page review article about single-molecule transistors, though. I also spoke at the Bat Sheva Seminar on Electron Transport in Molecular Junctions, possibly the best scientific meeting I've ever attended.

I heard two striking things at the meeting. First, Europeans and Israelis were shocked at how much time Americans spend writing grant proposals. Interesting. Second, there are still real problems in our understanding of interfaces at the atomic scale, and charge transfer. There is even still debate about whether the theory prediction vs. experimental data divide is converging. On the side saying that real progress is being made are folks like Stuart Lindsay and Mark Ratner. Those arguing that there are still major discrepancies include Amir Yacoby. Fascinating discussions.

I'll discuss a couple of specific recent results next time.