Nanotechnology Project

Topics

Public Perceptions

Publications

  • publications/archive September 29, 2009 Nanotechnology, Synthetic Biology, & Public Opinion A groundbreaking poll of 1,001 U.S. adults conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) found 90 percent of Americans think that the public should be better informed about the development of cutting-edge technologies.
  • publications/archive August 25, 2009 Nanotechnology and Consumer Products
  • publications/archive April 28, 2009 PEN 18 - Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology Existing health and safety agencies are unable to cope with the risk assessment, standard setting and oversight challenges of advancing nanotechnology.
  • publications/archive April 6, 2009 Toward a Comprehensive Strategy for Nanotechnology Risk Communication The last in a trio of studies: Cultural Cognition and Nanotechnology Risk Perceptions: An Experimental Investigation of Message Framing, asks what science will reveal about the risks and benefits of nanotechnology and what conclusions members of the public will form? It takes an in depth look at the power of information framing to accentuate or mitigate cultural polarization.
  • publications/archive January 27, 2009 PEN 16 - Nanotechnology: The Social and Ethical Issues “It is crucial to address social and ethical issues now as we consider both the substantial potential risks of nanotechnology and its possible significant contributions to our well-being and environmental sustainability,” says report author Ronald Sandler. PEN 16 emphasizes ways in which these issues intersect with governmental functions and responsibilities, including science and technology policy, as well as research funding, regulation and work on public engagement.
  • publications/archive January 14, 2009 PEN 17 - A Hard Pill to Swallow Historically, the regulation of dietary supplements has been a significant challenge for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the fact that some of these products are now being manufactured using nanotechnology creates an additional layer of complexity. Is FDA equipped to meet the emerging regulatory challenge of dietary supplements that use engineered nanomaterials?
  • publications/archive December 9, 2008 Federal Government Nanotechnology Environment, Health and Safety Research Federal risk-research funding options for moving forward under the next administration
  • publications/archive September 18, 2008 Poll: Risks and Benefits of Nanotechnology & Synthetic Biology A groundbreaking poll finds that almost half of U.S. adults have heard nothing about nanotechnology, and nearly nine in 10 Americans say they have heard just a little or nothing at all about the emerging field of synthetic biology, according to a new report released by the Project and Peter D. Hart Research. Both technologies involve manipulating matter at an incredibly small scale to achieve something new.
  • publications/archive August 21, 2008 PEN 14 - The Consumer Products Safety Commission and Nanotechnology The inability of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to carry out its mandate with respect to simple, low-tech products such as children’s jewelry and toy trains bodes poorly for its ability to oversee the safety of complex, high-tech products made using nanotechnology, according to E. Marla Felcher.
  • publications/archive July 23, 2008 PEN 13 - Nanotechnology Oversight Few domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
  • publications/archive April 24, 2008 Congressional Testimony - National Nanotechnology Initiative: Charting the Course for Reauthorization New nanotechnology consumer products are coming on the market at the rate of three to four per week, a finding based on the latest update to the nanotechnology consumer product inventory. Today, in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, PEN Project Director David Rejeski cited Ace Silver Plus—another of the nine nano toothpastes in the inventory—as an example of the upsurge in nanotechnology consumer products in stores. The hearing marks the start of U.S. Senate debate on the future direction of the annual $1.5 billion federal investment in nanotechnology research and development .
  • publications/archive April 9, 2008 PEN 11 - Room at the Bottom? State and local governments often have adopted trailblazing initiatives to address environmental, health and safety concerns in advance or in lieu of federal action. With nanotechnology, an emerging field of science with unknown risks, this practice is continuing, a landmark study has found.
  • publications/archive February 28, 2008 First Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy Keynote address from Michael R. Taylor at the First Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy.
  • publications/archive February 15, 2008 Nanotechnology Field Observations: Scouting the New Industrial West “Note from the Field” article for the Journal of Cleaner Production.
  • publications/archive February 4, 2008 Biased Assimilation, Polarization, and Cultural Credibility: An Experimental Study of Nanotechnology Risk Perceptions When the public considers competing arguments about a new technology’s potential risks and benefits, people will tend to agree with the expert whose values are closest to their own, no matter what position the expert takes. According to this study, the same will hold true for nanotechnology.