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.
