Susan Hockfield

Harvard Book Store welcomes renowned neuroscientist and MIT president emerita SUSAN HOCKFIELD for a discussion of her new book, The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution.

About The Age of Living Machines

A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies: radios, telephones, televisions, aircraft, radar, nuclear power, computers, the Internet, and a host of still-evolving digital tools. These technologies so radically reshaped our world that we can no longer conceive of life without them.

Today, the world’s population is projected to rise to well over 9.5 billion by 2050, and we are currently faced with the consequences of producing the energy that fuels, heats, and cools us. With temperatures and sea levels rising, and large portions of the globe plagued with drought, famine, and drug-resistant diseases, we need new technologies to tackle these problems.

But we are on the cusp of a new convergence, argues world-renowned neuroscientist Susan Hockfield, with discoveries in biology coming together with engineering to produce another array of almost inconceivable technologies―next-generation products that have the potential to be every bit as paradigm-shifting as the twentieth century’s digital wonders.

The Age of Living Machines describes some of the most exciting new developments and the scientists and engineers who helped create them. Virus-built batteries. Protein-based water filters. Cancer-detecting nanoparticles. Mind-reading bionic limbs. Computer-engineered crops. Together they highlight the promise of the technology revolution of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges of our time.

Praise

“Vibrant and accessible. . . . What’s especially exciting about the narrative is that much of the research Hockfield describes occurred as a result of her foresight and tenacity; her vision at MIT was to bridge disciplines in a manner similar to the pioneering work that was conducted at Bell Labs in the mid-20th century. . . . In these uncertain times, Hockfield instills hope for an enriched and peaceful tomorrow. A thrilling, insightful, and highly readable work of popular science.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“Susan Hockfield’s lively and authoritative book brings to life the bio-revolution that is coming and that will dwarf the computer revolution in causing disruption―for better and worse.” —Ashton B. Carter, former U.S. secretary of defense, director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

“A highly readable and deeply informative look over the scientific horizon into a future where biology and engineering converge to offer extraordinary means to improve our world.” —Drew Gilpin Faust, president emerita and Lincoln Professor of History, Harvard University