Krisotfer Pister is leading a team of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley that is developing tiny, electronic devices called "smart dust," designed to capture mountains of information about their surroundings while literally floating on air. If the project is successful, clouds of smart dust could one day be used in an astonishing array of applications, from following enemy troop movements and hunting Scud missiles to detecting toxic chemicals in the environment and monitoring weather patterns around the globe.