Category: Media Mentions

from the World-Watch dept.
In the online version of Peopleís Daily, Chinaís Xinhua news agency reports ("China's Bid to Establish Nanotech Research Center", 29 June 2001) that China's Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have unveiled the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), in an effort to push forward advanced research on nano technology.
In April, Jiangsu Province announced research and industrialization of nanometer technology will be one of the main priorities in the province's new century drive to develop its science sector, according to an official from the provincial Development Planning Commission. And the coastal province of Shandong recently worked out its blueprint for developing nano-meter industry.

For some perspective on how nanotechnology fits into Chinaís overall plans to advance its science and technology programs, an interesting commentary from the Chinese National Science and Technology Awards Ceremony appeared in February.

from the public-affairs dept.
A pair of recent guest editorials in major San Francisco and Seattle newspapers have called for increased focus and greater funding for U.S. nanotechnology programs:

• San Francisco Chronicle columnist Hal Plotkin, who is also the Silicon Valley Correspondent for CNBC.com, writes in his piece ("The Tech Sector Needs A Nanotechnology Target", 21 June 2001): "As a field, nanotechnology is about where rocket science was at the dawn of the Space Age. Huge early investments in the space race yielded technological dividends that are only now beginning to dwindle. A similar race toward inner space will probably lead to even more lasting rewards." Plotkin also notes "Concerns over safety have already led to the creation of a voluntary set of ethical guidelines for nanotechnologists. The proposed rules say a lot about what could happen if something goes wrong", and points to the Foresight Guidelines.
• And in the Seattle Times, Thomas Kalil, a former deputy assistant to the president for technology and economic policy in the Clinton administration, criticizes the Bush Administrationís proposed FY2002 budget (" Cutting-edge small technology deserves big U.S. investment ", 28 June 2001). Even though nanotech-oriented programs in the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative saw a 23% increase in the proposed budget, overall funding for many of the agencies involved was cut. Kalil writes: "Unfortunately, the budget the Bush administration has submitted to Congress will make it difficult to significantly expand the NNI. The Bush plan would cut the research budgets of the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Energy, agencies that all play a key role in the NNI . . . For a number of reasons, however, a failure to significantly expand U.S. government funding for nanotechnology would be a serious blow to America's future."
  Kalil concludes, "At a minimum, the Bush administration and Congress should work together to double federal spending on nanotechnology research over the next five years. America's economic and technology leadership in the 21st century will depend on these kinds of farsighted investments."

from the World-Watch dept.
Australasian Science, a monthly popular science magazine published by the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS), has devoted most of its June 2001 issue to nanotechnology. Although not all the content is online at the AS website, an interesting article ("Nanomachines: The New Industrial Revolution") by Michael Wilson, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Technology in Sydney, is online.

However, you can find most of the rest of the articles from that issue on the SmallTimes website, including one on "Ethics in the Nanoworld", by John Weckert.

from the vague-generalities dept.
United Press International has a short interview with H.S. Nalwa ("Nalwa sees nanotechnology expanding", by K. Hearn, 16 June 2001), the editor of the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and a former staff scientist at the Hitachi Research Laboratory in Japan. Nalwa favors nanoelectronics and nanobiotechnology as the fields that will most likely produce short term results. When asked if the public is sufficiently informed about nanoscience, Nalwa said: "Only educated people and professionals are aware of nanotechnology because it is not defined in a layman manner. We need to define nanotechnology for the public ranging from non-scientists to experts."

from the deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas dept.
An article in the Houston Business Journal ("Nanotechnology may help city keep energy capital title", by A. Coleman, 1 June 2001) makes the audacious claim that "Houston is the center of research into nanotechnology", and ponders how nanotech may help the oil capital retain its primacy in energy production industries. The article quotes Richard Smalley, director of Rice's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, who says he does not know of any short-term applications of nanotechnology to energy, but the long-term benefits will be tremendous: lighter-weight materials, better insulation, and, in the very long term, solar energy generation. "If there is an answer to our solar energy needs it most certainly will be nano," says Smalley.

The article also mentions potential applications of nanotechnology in molecular electronics (quoting Riceís James Tour) and in oil exploration, extraction and processing, as well as cleaning up spills and pollution from fossil fuels.

from the World-Watch dept.
In an interview with United Press International ("South Korean consular describes tech trends", by K. Hearn, 9 June 2001), Sangseon Kim, science consular at the South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C., describes his countryís intent to invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.13 billion) in a ten-year nanotechnology investment program. When asked what he thought of the idea of an international body to steer research and applications of nanotechnology similar to the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative, Kim said, "I think that is a good idea. If you image the Human Genome Project, how it involved international cooperation, you see it is a good model. The United States can be a leading country in this field but one country can't cover all areas. International cooperation is important to prove and promote R&D activities.î

from the selective-service dept.
According to an article from United Press International ("Lack of scientists hurts nanoresearch", by K. Hearn, 5 June 2001) research in nanoscience at U.S. military laboratories is being hampered a shortage of U.S. citizens trained in physical sciences and by social attitudes about foreign-born scientists. The U.S. military requires that researchers in its laboratories be U.S. citizens. The article also notes that in a speech in April, James Murday, head of the chemistry division at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, said other nations, Singapore and Germany especially, were also having trouble finding qualified scientists to conduct nanoscale research.