Category: Found On Web

from the Inscrutable dept.
You might be able to glean some useful kernels of information about nanotech-related research in China from the website of the Nano Science and Technology Network of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASNANO), although there actually seems to be little substantial content on the site as yet.
The site and program are relatively new efforts; previous coverage of nanotech-related news appeared here on 29 June and 31 July 2001.

from the Moí-better dept.
The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) has redesigned its website, and added a huge amount of new information. The new site is much more accessible, provides more in-depth background information on CNSI goals and programs, more current news on CNSI research activities, and new information on the Instituteís leadership, faculty, and partners in private industry. If you havenít been to the CNSI website recently, the new site is worth a look.

from the But-is-it-art? dept.
A group of chemists, computer programmers and animators "who believe that science can be art and art can be science", led by molecular electronics researcher James Tour, a professor of chemistry at Rice University, have launched the NANOArtworks website. Although little actual content available on the site as yet, it appears to be aimed at providing a lighthearted look at chemistry for younger students and a general audience.

According to the siteís blurb, the members of the group "believe that chemistry is fun. So fun that we want to share our interest throughout the world by the means of Benny the NanoBoy in the land of Nanoput. In his upcoming movies, you'll not only enjoy the 3D animation and comical storylines, but you'll also walk away with a new-found interest in chemistry."

from the regional-nanohype dept.
The Southern California Nanotechnology Working Group, part of the Technology Alliance for Southern California (formerly the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance, or LARTA) has issued a short report ("Nanotechnology Yellow Pages: Industry Report and Directory for the 'Nano Republic' of Southern California") on the potential opportunities in the nanotech sector, along with a listing of the region's leading corporations, universities, and research laboratories in nanotechnology. Despite the tone of boosterism that tries to place S. California at the center of the nanotech universe and a few copyediting bloopers ("J. Eric Drexler"???), it is an interesting read. Most of the firms listed actually produce bulk nanostructured materials, but the listing of government, university and corporate research labs is useful.
LARTA is a nonprofit organization based at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. The report is available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file (about 550 KB) on the LARTA website, if you register for their e-mail newsletter.

An article on the SmallTimes website ("Nano Yellow Pages are blueprint for Southern California's future", by Jayne Fried, 3 August 2001) includes some useful background on LARTA and the report, as well as some amusing PR puffery in the hyperbolic comments made by LARTA officers.

from the concerned-but-confused dept.
For an interesting example of the distant shores the concept of molecular nanotechnology is washing up upon, and the concerns being raised about nanotech by people and groups not directly connected to the research and development community, take a look at this report issued by the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI): The ETC Century: Erosion, Technological Transformation and Corporate Concentration in the 21st Century, by P.R. Mooney (February 2001). [Note: this is a link to an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, not a web page.]
Although the RAFI author does take note of the potential benefits of nanotechnology, concerns over the potential negative impacts seem more prominent.

RAFI is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to the conservation and sustainable improvement of agricultural biodiversity, and to the socially responsible development of technologies useful to rural societies. RAFI is concerned about the loss of genetic diversity – especially in agriculture – and about the impact of intellectual property on agriculture and world food security.