U.S. House debates direction of national nanotech funding, policy

from the budget-battles dept.
An article in EE Times ("Science panel calls for balanced research spending", by George Leopold, 26 March 2002) reports on an increasing level of scrutiny of the Bush administrationís proposed funding priorities for science and technology spending in the U.S. national budget for FY2003, including nanotechnology. According to the article, "The House Science Committee is calling for increased federal funding in fiscal 2003 for technology research and development programs and for a balancing of funding for biomedical and physical science research."

In its annual "views and estimates" of the federal budget request, the Republican-controlled science panel said the Bush administration's research budget request is skewed heavily in support of biomedical research, especially at the National Institutes of Health, which is slated to receive an annual budget increase larger than the entire $5.04 billion budget requested for the National Science Foundation [NSF]. The committee endorsed the Bush administration's "multi-agency R&D" priorities for network and information technology, nanotechnology and anti-terrorism programs. The White House requested a 3 percent increase in funding for networking and information technology research. It also proposed a 17 percent increase in funding next year for nanotechnology research. The committee said it might address nanotechnology research in legislation later this year.

Additional coverage and analysis can be found on the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Science Policy website:

Some insight into the high level of support for the NSF and for nanotechnology research in particular can be found in a speech delivered on 8 March 2002 by House Science Committee Chair Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) at a nanotechnology conference held at the Brookhaven National Laboratory to formally launched the Labís new $55 million Center for Functional Nanomaterials (see Nanodot post from 22 March 2002). Boehlert said, "I will do everything in my power to ensure that nanotechnology research gets the funding it deserves — not just in the Department of Energy [which operates the Brookhaven Lab] but throughout the federal government."
[Some excerpts from the speech also appear on the AIP site.]

Finally, for the minority Memberís views, see "An Analysis by the Minority Staff of the House Science Committee" from 5 February 2002.

Debate over these issues is also likely to arise in the U.S. Senate if, as planned, a bill on nanotechnology research funding sponsored by Senator Joe Leiberman and others is submitted (see Nanodot post from 27 December 2001).

Business Week takes a positive look at nanotech

from the positively-breathless dept.
A special edition of Business Week Magazine includes a number of items on nanotechnology, including an enthusiastic feature article ("The Tech Outlook: Nano Technology: No, its not all hype: these supertiny gizmos will transform our way of life", by Otis Port with Roger O. Crockett, 25 March 2002). The article notes the ongoing land-rush mentality of venture capitalists and large tech-oriented corporations into micro- and nano-scale technology R&D, as they are "pumping significant sums into nanotech research, as are governments around the world. A new study from CMP Cientifica [the Nanotechnology Opportunity Report], a market researcher in Madrid, says last year's worldwide government figure topped $1.2 billion (page 184). This year, the private and public sectors will probably spend $2 billion apiece on nano. . . . All told, venture capitalists and corporate funds will probably plow $1 billion into nano investments this year, twice what they invested in 2000, says S. Joshua Wolfe, a partner at New York's Lux Capital Group."

The article surveys a limited range of recent research, mostly into carbon nanotubes and semiconductor nanowires, and notes the formation of the NanoBusiness Alliance last year, before concluding:

The ultimate dream of nano engineers is an "assembler," which was first described in the writings of nanotech pioneer K. Eric Drexler, head of Foresight Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. It's a teensy robot that could be programmed to assemble atoms into gears and other components of nanomachines. That vision is still science fiction, says Raymond A. Kurzweil, author and president of Kurzweil Technologies Inc. But if assemblers can be developed, "they'll solve humanity's material needs," he adds. From molecules of dust and dirt, they would harvest the atoms needed to assemble computers, appliances, and other goods.

New national center for micro, nanotech planned in UK

from the World-Watch dept.
According to an article in the Birmingham Post ("£80m bid for science center", by Richard Warburton, 18 March 2002), the West Midlands region of the UK is set to become the heart of Britain's science technology industry with a new £80 million (about U.S. $144 million) manufacturing complex that will create 10,000 jobs. The article says, "Plans have been drawn up for the world's largest centre for nanoscience to be based along the A38 technology corridor in Birmingham. . . . The city's universities, businesses and MPs [Members of Parliament] are pushing for the national centre for microsystems and nanotechnology which would draw on the region's international reputation for modern research and secure its place as the country's manufacturing hub."

Small Times covers nanotech education in U.S., East Asia

from the learning-curve dept.
The online version of Small Times has begun an interesting new series of articles focusing on university-level educational efforts to develop and expand a workforce for emerging micro- and nano-scale technologies.

VC talks nanotech in Forbes Magazine

An article by Josh Wolfe, a partner at venture capital firm Lux Capital, appears in Forbes Magazine ("A New World Is Born", 14 March 2002). His take: "Don't confuse the stock market with the real world. The tech stock balloon is busted, shattered, gone. But the technology revolution is just getting started. Looming just ahead is what may well be its most exciting phase–nanotechnology. This will be bigger than the Internet and more far-reaching. It will create vast new wealth. It will destroy a lot of old wealth. And it will shake up just about every business on the planet."

Jonathan Despr

from the end-of-an-era dept.
Nanodot notes without comment this item posted on the Atomasoft website on 11 March 2002. Atomasoft operates the NanotechNews website.

Atomasoft announced a major restructuring of itís [sic] operations and budget today as a result of a resignation by Jonathan Després. Mr. Després, one of the founders of Atomasoft and former CEO, will no longer work for Atomasoft and has agreed to hand over all assets and information regarding Atomasoftís operations to the executive team.
Part of the restructuring unfortunately includes the cancellation of Nano Investor Conference 2002. The event was spearheaded by Mr. Després but as a result of the current situation at Atomasoft, it must be cancelled. There have been a number of other nanobusiness conferences planned throughout this year and Atomasoft certainly does not have the resources to make its vision of a nanobusiness conference a reality at the current time. First and foremost, all its efforts will be devoted to continuing the success of the core operations; This includes the growing website portals on emerging technology.
Service to all of Atomasoftís sites will not be interrupted and business will continue as normal; We anticipate no problems with the transition period.

Photovoltaic Paint? (flexible solar cells)

Mr_Farlops writes "Using nanorods and liquid plastic semiconductor, researchers at University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a solar cell that can be painted or sprayed onto a surface.

The Sacramento Bee article, which I found on Slash, was a bit short on details and perhaps incorrectly cites this discovery as an advance in nanotechnology."

[Editor's Note: Additional information, including some diagrams of the solar cells, can be found in this joint press release (28 March 2002) from the UC-Berkeley and LBL.

Additional coverage is available in an article from the Reuters News Service ("Group Makes Cheap Plastic Solar Energy Cells", 28 March 2002), and another from United Press International ("Researchers make plastic solar cells", 28 March 2002).]

Space Elevator/Carbon nanotube composites

Leonard David writes "Thought you might find this story of interest: Space elevators/carbon nanotube composites at http://space.com/businesstechnology/technology/space_elevator_020327-1.html
– Leonard David, Senior Space Writer
SPACE.com"

[Editor's Note: additional information on the orbital tower concept and the potential use of fullerene-based composites as a construction material can be found in this Nanodot post from 3 May 2001.]

NSF grant will help establish nanotech program in Idaho

from the small-potatoes dept.
According to a press release (14 March 2002), Boise State University has received a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to help establish a state-wide nanotechnology research program in Idaho. An interdisciplinary team of Boise State scientists will be part of a statewide project to study and develop nanoscale materials. The Boise State phase of the project is financed by nearly $2 million in federal and matching state funds awarded to the university through the NSFís Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program to support competitive research in Idaho.

The Boise area hosts one of the fastest-growing regional high-tech economies in the U.S., and is home to Micron Semiconductor and the headquarters of Hewlett-Packardís Printing and Imaging Division.

Texas gains, loses in jockeying for nanotech leadership

from the win-some,-loose-some dept.
According to an article in the Austin Business Journal ("SWT, UT ramp up for nanotech", by Stacey Higginbotham, 22 March 2002), Southwest Texas State University (SWT) and a new partnership among three other Texas universities are seeking millions of dollars in federal and private funding to promote nanotechnology in Texas. According to the article, a partnership between Rice University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Dallas called SPRING, or the Strategic Partnership for Nanotechnology, is seeking "tens of millions" in federal and private grants to build or update nanotechnology centers at the three schools, says Paul Barbara, director of UT's Center for Nano and Molecular Sciences and Technology. SWT is seeking $5.5 million to create a research lab and workforce development program for nanotechnology called the Nanotechnology Failure Analysis, Materials, Evaluation and Education Center (NanoFAME).

But as the Austin American-Statesman reports ("MIT steals away prominent UT nanotech scientist", by Cara Anna, 25 March 2002), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has managed to convince prominent nanotech researcher Angela Belcher, a University of Texas professor and a member of UT's new Center for Nano and Molecular Science and Technology, to leave the University of Texas at Austin and join MIT's new NanoMechanical Technology Laboratory as an associate professor in the fall. Additional coverage of this latest nanotech talent raid can be found in an Associated Press article ("Texas nanotech team heading to Northeast", 25 March 2002) that appeared in the Boston Herald.

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