Nanotechnology

Lost in the Maize

by Andrew Maynard December 24, 2010

Hegswarm – what a great word!  Far more elegant and versatile than the “Gray Goo” that has nibbled at the heels of nanotechnology for the past decade. Over the holiday break, I’ve escaped academia for the relative sanity of family reunions and mince pies, and have been catching up on some reading.  Currently I’m in [...]

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The geopolitics of nanotechnology – an ideaological counterweight from ETC?

by Andrew Maynard December 22, 2010

Getting an unbiased perspective on nanotechnology is probably as close to impossible as you can get.  Governments invest in nanotech because they believe in its ability to inspire new research and stimulate economies and social change.  Corporations invest in nanotech because they think it will give them an edge in a hyper-competitive world.  Neither is [...]

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The NNI at 10 – did I really say that?

by Andrew Maynard December 8, 2010

I must have been just a little worked up when I spoke with Gwyneth Shaw at the New Haven Independent a couple of weeks ago on nanotechnology.  I’m usually fairly circumspect with my comments to reporters (OK, so I know some readers have just spattered their coffee across the computer screen, but do try to [...]

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US Nanotechnology Environmental, Health & Safety Research Strategy open for comment

by Andrew Maynard December 6, 2010

The US National Nanotechnology Initiative’s latest iteration of its Environmental, Health and Safety Research Strategy has just been posted on-line for public comment.  Between now and January 6, anyone who is interested is encouraged to read the draft and comment on the on-line portal – hopefully sparking a dialogue which will strengthen the final document. [...]

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Risk Science – A personal perspective

by Andrew Maynard November 28, 2010

As Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center, it’s probably not surprising that I’m constantly being asked “what on earth is risk science?”  What is surprising is how hard it is to come up with a clear and concise answer.  Which is why I decided to spend a good portion of my “installation” [...]

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Reviewing the National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan – Twitter on steroids?

by Andrew Maynard November 27, 2010

Here’s a bit of trivia: with the 4000 character limit on comments on the National Nanotechnology Initiative Draft Strategic Plan, you might as well ditch the official portal, and tweet your comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy – 28 tweets would do it! As you can probably guess, I’ve just been compiling [...]

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Nanotechnology, climate and energy: over-heated promises and hot air?

by Andrew Maynard November 16, 2010

Friends of the Earth have just released a new report challenging claims that nanotechnology will lead to greener, more energy-efficient technologies, lower-impact technologies. I’ve only had the chance to skim through the report so far, and so don’t have detailed comments on it.  But on my initial skim a number of things struck me:

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International Handbook on Regulating Nanotechnologies – sneak peak of contents

by Andrew Maynard November 4, 2010

Back in the mists of time, I was approached with a crazy proposition – would I help co-edit a book on nanotechnologies regulation!  In a moment of weakness I said yes, and a little more than two and a half years later, the book is finally about to hit the shelves. I actually think the [...]

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Nanotechnology prominent in percieved 21st century science & engineering advancements

by Andrew Maynard November 4, 2010

This image from the first US National Science and Engineering Festival attracted my attention this morning: It’s a wordle constructed from responses to the question “What will be the greatest discoveries and advancements science and engineering will bring us in the 21st century?” What grabbed my attention was the prominence of nanotechnology in the mix [...]

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Lost in the Maize

by Andrew Maynard October 29, 2010

A weekly reflection on life in academia Most of this last week was spent in San Francisco, at the NISE Net (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network) network-wide meeting – possibly my favorite meeting of the year (I might have mentioned that before).  This year I had the additional pleasure of opening the meeting in a [...]

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Limited resources and emerging technologies: China does the math

by Andrew Maynard October 20, 2010

New technologies depend on uncommon materials, and society depends on new technologies.  Which means that economies that develop the former and control the latter have something of an upper hand in today’s interconnected and technology-dependent world. This has clearly not escaped the notice of the Chinese.  China, which controls around 90% of the world’s rare [...]

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Nanotechnology 2.0: The next ten years of nano risk research

by Andrew Maynard October 13, 2010

Sometime in the past couple of weeks – I’m not entirely sure when as accounts are conflicting – the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) posted a draft of a new report examining the long-term impacts and research directions of nanotechnology.  The “Nano2″ study was supported by the National Science Foundation under the direction of Mike [...]

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Realizing dreams of carbon nanotubes

by Nanocomp September 28, 2010

A guest blog by John Dorr, Vice President of Business Development Nanocomp Technologies Inc. Despite all the fuss over nanotechnology, it’s surprisingly difficult to get a clear sense of how the technology is contributing to new products.  So when the company Nanocomp Technologies Inc. approached me with an idea of writing a guest blog about [...]

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Rethinking nanotechnology – responding to a request for Information on the US Nanotechnology Strategic Plan

by Andrew Maynard August 30, 2010

Back in July, the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) posted a Request For Information in the Federal Register for input to the next NNI strategic plan – to be published later this year.  The closing date for comments was a couple of weeks ago now.  I got mine in in the nick of time.  My [...]

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Is nanotechnology suffering from “silent rave” syndrome?

by Andrew Maynard August 26, 2010

I couldn’t resist finishing the August in the Archives series with this piece on “silent rave” syndrome, which I am sad to say still seems to inflict the emerging technologies community! Originally posted October 5 2008 The silent rave might seem a rather bizarre social phenomenon; a group of strangers converging in a public place [...]

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Value-added nanotechnology

by Andrew Maynard August 24, 2010

The more the debate over what precisely nanotechnology is goes on, the more inclined I am to think that it’s something of an illusion.  Sure, nanoscale science is real.  And there are clearly technologies that exploit this.  But are they nanotechnologies, or are they simply clever uses of science, technology and engineering across multiple length [...]

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Nano-sunscreens leave their mark

by Andrew Maynard August 19, 2010

Most manufacturers of nanomaterial-based sunscreens try to make sure that the material they use doesn’t generate harmful chemicals in the presence of sunlight.  But the paper this piece was based on suggested that some photoactive materials might be slipping through the net. Originally posted June 21 2008. Painted metal roofs are cheap, convenient, and usually [...]

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Enough meetings already!

by Andrew Maynard August 10, 2010

I couldn’t resist reposting this piece, as it captured so well my frustration at the time of spending so much time in meetings – usually for someone else’s benefit.  Sadly, I didn’t learn the error of my ways – my travel schedule has, if anything, got worse since then! Originally posted May 8 2008. My [...]

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I’m breathing in nanoparticles, so why aren’t I dead already?

by Andrew Maynard August 5, 2010

This was based on a piece I originally wrote for Nano Today – the blog was a slightly extended version of what was published.  Although it was written two years ago, it’s still surprising how few people realize that breathing in nanoparticles is an everyday fact of life, and that to make sense of new [...]

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