Software systems will be vital to nanotechnology and to enabling technologies along the way. A basic introduction to computers and software will be of value to anyone in any area of science or technology. Those interested in software related to nanotechnology should pay special attention to numerical simulation methods for molecular mechanical and quantum electronic systems, and to the design of programs for highly parallel computer systems, since this is the direction hardware will be moving in the coming years. Parallel systems will help designers develop nanotechnology, and nanocomputers will later be used to build massively parallel (trillion processor and up) computer systems. Finally, if powerful systems are to be useful in molecular design, they will need to be accessible through fast, clean, intuitive interfaces that let designers see and manipulate model molecules.
The great Eric Drexler offers extensive guidance for those considering studying towards molecular nanotech, and that quote is most relevant to me, since I'm doing software and all.
The end-notes, where he encourages supreme rigour and discipline, would scare most away. This appears to be a demanding career.