The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Releases Nanotechnology Report

Office of Science and Technology Policy - The [White House PAST] report concludes that the [National Nanotechnology Initiative] NNI— which provided $12 billion in investments by 25 Federal agencies over the past decade—has had a “catalytic and substantial impact” on the growth of U.S. nanotechnology innovation and should be continued.

However, the report warns, the United States stands to surrender its global lead in nanotechnology if it does not address some pressing needs. Key among those is a need to increase investments in product commercialization and technology transfer to help ensure that new nanotech methods and products make it to the marketplace, and the need to strengthen NNI commitments to explore in a more orderly fashion environmental, health, and safety issues. [Emphasis Added]