Of course most Nanodot readers will want to study this 76-page report (PDF) in great detail, but for the few who don’t quite get around to this task, here are some of the more ambitious parts: In the section on 2006 and 2007 Activities by Agency, NIST says they will continue to “devise ways to… Continue reading Highlights of President's 2007 report on the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative
UNESCO’s Division of Ethics of Science and Technology has taken a shot at writing about The Ethics and Politics of Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology Now has a brief critique. David Berube has a longer one. To do a thorough critique here of these kinds of documents would take too long—I’d be blogging all day, every day. Instead… Continue reading UNESCO on nanotechnology ethics & politics
Foresight and other nanotech NGOs and companies have requested the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, to allocate US$1 million for an EHS (environmental, health and safety) roadmap, to be prepared by the National Academy of Sciences. Organizations and companies participating in the call were: Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., Altair… Continue reading $1 million requested for nanotech EHS roadmap
A message from Cate Alexander, Communications Director of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, about the May 2006 workshop on public participation which included Foresight: We have posted materials from the Public Participation in Nanotechnology workshop at http://www.nano.gov/html/society/home_society.html A few presentations are being converted from Mac to PC format and will be added to the… Continue reading Public participation in nanotech slides posted
It had to happen: a book in which German philosophers direct their attention to nanotech. (Ethicists and social scientists too.) Excerpts from the English abstracts (pdf), with my commentary inserted: An account is provided of how the purpose of gaining knowledge is reoriented towards purposes of application. This helps clear up the relation of discovery… Continue reading German philosophers take on nanotechnology
Judy Conner here at Foresight brings our attention to a new 55-page report from International Risk Governance Council, based in Switzerland, titled Survey on Nanotechnology Governance: Volume D. The Role of NGOs (400K pdf). Nine organizations are featured: five from the U.S. (CRN, Environmental Defense, Foresight, NRDC, and one I had not previously heard about,… Continue reading NGOs weigh in on nanogovernance
From a piece in Red Herring: “Mark Mansour, an attorney for Foley & Lardner, issued the warning during a talk at the NanoBusiness 2006 conference in New York City. He said nanotech businesses need to step up their efforts to explain the complex technology to the public—before their foes do… ” ‘Friends of the Earth… Continue reading Nanotech industry advocates gear up to fight back
Here’s your chance to relocate to sunny Arizona and get paid (okay, not well paid, but paid something) for studying the societal implications of nanotech. I suspect that most people entering this field are skeptical of technology, so let’s try to fill this job with someone who’s enthusiastic, to provide balance. This Center is looking… Continue reading Fun job open in Nano & Society studies
Now in its sixth revision, the lastest version of the Foresight Guidelines for Responsible Nanotechnology Development was released today (HTML or 116 KB PDF), just in time for a presentation this morning by Foresight Research Associate Dr. David Forrest to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ meeting for nanotechnology stakeholders. Excerpt: “Version… Continue reading Foresight nanotech R&D guidelines: new version released
From Arab News, comments by Prince Turki ibn Saud, vice president of the research institutes at the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST): ” ‘We have government approval for a 20-year strategic development plan,’ he said. ‘The Kingdom is keen to develop nanotechnology, which holds immense potential in the future. The KACST… Continue reading Nanorace gains another entrant: Saudi Arabia
