Nanotechnology Project

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Looking Ahead

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 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 October 3, 2008 Nanotechnology: Energizing the Future Industry and government are searching for new technologies that will foster more efficient and less-polluting energy sources. From nano-enabled solar panels to long-lasting automobile batteries, nanotechnology will be a cornerstone of 21st Century energy sources.
  • 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 September 9, 2008 PEN 15 - Silver Nanotechnologies and the Environment Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report released today by the Project.
  • 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 February 26, 2008 Application of the Toxics Release Inventory to Nanomaterials This research brief examines whether the legal authorities that establish the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in the Emergency Planning and Community-Right to-Know Act (EPCRA) could be applied to nanomaterials. Although several organizations have published analyses of whether specific environmental laws could be used to regulate nanomaterials, none of these reviews has examined EPCRA or TRI in any detail.
  • publications/archive February 19, 2008 Applying the Chemical Policy Options to Emerging Technologies and Materials: Adaptations and Challenges Can the template developed in this report for chemicals policy reform be applied in assessing the hazards of emerging technologies and what considerations are involved for state governments?
  • 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.