What advances in technology will you see in the next ten years? Perhaps you will carry your personal computer in your jacket pocket, diabetics will receive insulin, as needed, from an imbedded sensor-delivery system, and store shelves may stock anti-aging creams that actually work.

These are just a few of the possibilities that were compiled by researchers at Battelle, producing a list of the top ten strategic technologies for 2005.

"One of the most striking overall advances will be in the area of miniaturization," said Stephen M. Millett, Managing Principal of the Battelle Technology Management Group and an internationally recognized expert in technology forecasting. "Researchers will be looking for ways to make technology more compact. This will range in areas from the health and medical fields, to electronics.

"Researchers at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (a national lab operated by Battelle for U.S. Department of Energy) have developed a heat pump the size of a dime. Watch for this trend to continue. Someday you'll have a computer the size of a cellular telephone, and it will store vast amounts of information."

The choices for the ten strategic technologies, which were compiled by 11 of Battelle's finest minds, were based on three criteria. They must:

• Provide benefits to the end user. In other words, Millett said, "Will someone buy it?"
• Enjoy a protected and sustainable competitive advantage, in such areas as quality, uniqueness, or price.
• Support business goals.

The top ten strategic technologies, in order of importance, are:

1. Mapping of the human genome for genetic-based personal identification and diagnostics. Researchers will look for ways to treat diseases before they occur. For example, if a person carries the gene that gives them a 90-percent probability of contracting Lou Gehrig's disease, treatment could start in hopes of staving off the disease. Genome mapping also could lead to cures for specific cancers.

2. Super materials. There will be computer-based design and manufacturing of new materials at the molecular level. There are an unlimited number of molecules and researchers will change them to create new, high-performance materials for use in transportation, computers, energy, and communications.

3. Compact, long-lasting and highly portable energy sources, including fuel cells and batteries. "We're going to be developing great electronics, but we have to find a way to make fuel supplies mobile," said Millett. "You can develop a wonderful, portable personal computer, but you won't sell it if you can't supply the user with the energy to operate it."

4. Digital high definition television. This will be a major breakthrough for American manufacturers and a major source of revenue. This breakthrough could eventually lead to better computer images for advanced computer modeling and imaging.

5. Miniaturization of electronics for personal use. Interactive, wireless, data centers in a unit the size of a pocket calculator will serve as a fax, telephone, and computer with a hard drive capable of storing all the volumes in your local library.

6. Cost-effective systems that integrate power, sensors, and controls. These "smart systems" will continue to develop and eventually will control the manufacturing process from beginning to end. This has extensive consumer product and industrial applications.

7. Anti-aging products and services. "Aging can't be prevented, but we can develop products and services to make it a more pleasant experience," Millett said. "This technology will range from genetic code manipulation to aging creams that actually work."

8. Medical treatments, with highly accurate sensors and problem locators, and drug delivery systems that will be highly specific to precisely targeted parts of the body. For example, chemotherapy would be targeted for just the cancer cells, thus reducing the side effects, such as nausea and hair loss.

9. Hybrid fuel vehicles. Smart vehicles will be equipped to handle several types of fuels and will select the appropriate fuel for various conditions. A car may run on reformulated gasoline and use natural gas or electric panels as a backup. Gasoline will still be used, but will be reformulated and combined with other energy sources to reduce emissions and increase performance.

10. Edutainment--educational games and computerized simulations. "A kid growing up playing video games just doesn't find old-fashioned learning challenging. Children are becoming more sophisticated and they expect more from education," Millett explained. "The pace of traditional education is simply too slow. We need to put more education into entertainment and more entertainment into education."

    This concept will have applications for home, school, and the workplace.

Battelle serves industry and government by developing, commercializing, and managing technology. With a wide range of scientific and technical capabilities, Battelle puts technology to work for clients in 30 countries.