Nanotechnology Project

Topics

Perspectives

  • publications/archive July 23, 2008 PEN 13 - Nanotechnology Oversight Few domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
  • events/archive July 23, 2008 Nanotechnology and Oversight: An Agenda for the New Administration Few domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
  • news/archive July 23, 2008 Nanotech: A Regulatory Blueprint for the Next Administration Nanotechnology will significantly change virtually every facet of the way we live. The next president has the opportunity to shape these changes and to ensure that nanotechnology’s benefits will be maximized and its risks identified and controlled. A new report by former EPA official J. Clarence (Terry) Davies lays out a clear roadmap for the next presidential administration and describes the immediate and longer term steps necessary to deal with the current shortcomings of nanotechnology oversight. video
  • news/archive May 28, 2008 Tuning in to Carbon Nanotube Safety For several days last week, newspapers across the country and around the world reported on a new research study recently published in Nature Nanotechnology with headlines like “Nanotechnology cancer risk found” and “Nanotubes as deadly as asbestos.” This week National Public Radio’s “Science Friday” and “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” interviewed the Project’s chief science advisor Dr. Andrew Maynard, enabling listeners to get behind the headlines and pose questions directly to one of the study’s authors. audio
  • events/archive April 2, 2008 New Nanotechnology Television Series Does “Sweat the Small Stuff” The Project and National Science Foundation will host the Washington, DC, premiere event for the television series “Nanotechnology: The Power of Small”. The series’ three programs explore critical questions about nanotechnology’s potential impact on privacy, the environment and human health and will include remarks by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a co-chair of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus.
  • news/archive February 19, 2008 Federal Nanotech Risk Research Plan Still Comes Up Short An improved but still flawed government-wide plan for nanotechnology risk research is the result of a broken system. Federally-funded studies essential to managing possible risks from this cutting-edge technology should be guided by a top-down strategy tied to projected commercialization, expected human and environmental exposures, and the regulatory decision-making process.
  • news/archive February 11, 2008 Know Your Nano? Free iPods To Those With High “Nano IQ”! Five free iPod Nanos are up for grabs! To celebrate the launch of our redesigned website, the Project is sponsoring a “Nano-IQ” contest. Winners will be randomly selected from those who successfully complete the five-question quiz. - UPDATE: Winners Announced!
  • publications/archive January 4, 2008 Looking Back on the First Two Years This report reviews the Project’s major activities, key contributions, and most significant impacts over its first two years.
  • events/archive December 9, 2007 The Nanotech Future: A Conversation with Mihail Roco Dr. Roco is the key architect of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)—America’s $8 billion investment in the science and engineering research expected to revolutionize technology and industry. video
  • events/archive June 11, 2007 Perspectives on Nanotechnology: Business, Government and Public Health Scientists have hailed nanotechnology as the next great scientific revolution, poised to create revolutionary changes in the daily lives of people worldwide. At an event hosted by the Project at the Dirksen Senate Office building, a panel of experts offered different perspectives on the budding potential of nanotechnology, but also cautioned that exploiting the unpredictable properties materials exhibit at the nanoscale may have as much potential to harm as to help. video
  • events/archive June 29, 2006 Taking Nanotechnology to Market: One Company’s Strategy Many people see nanotechnology as a futurist dream. Tomorrow’s nano world promises pollution-free energy, potent cancer and Alzheimer’s treatments, and faster, smaller, cheaper computers. video
  • events/archive May 30, 2006 Nanotechnology Gives Lift to Space Elevator Is Clarke, who predicted the use of satellites, right again? Does nanotechnology potentially make a space elevator more than a science fiction dream? video
  • events/archive February 23, 2006 Nanotechnology & NIOSH: Perspectives from Director John Howard With the National Science Foundation predicting that by 2015 nanotechnology will have a $1 trillion impact on the global economy and employ 2 million workers, it is critical to develop the research data necessary to maintain safe American workplaces. video
  • events/archive December 14, 2005 Nanotechnology and the Media: Realities and Risk Nanotechnology is in the marketplace—in cars, computer chips and cosmetics. It’s featured in popular films and sci-fi books. It’s trendy with venture capitalists, and it’s at the heart of major industry and university research centers. But how is nanotechnology covered in the media? Does the press propagate nano-hype? Do journalists focus more on nano’s risks than its benefits? Is the content and quality of U.S. reporting on nanotech similar to reporting abroad? video