Agenda for High Impact Nanotechnology Development
Scott Mize*
Foresight Institute
Palo Alto, CA 94306 USA
This is an abstract for a presentation given at the
1st Conference on Advanced Nanotechnology:
Research, Applications, and Policy
Slide presentation as 372 KB PDF
Audio as 5.1 MB MP3
The incredible breadth and diversity of nanotechnology presents an important question: How should society prioritize its investment in nanotechnology? What are the areas on which governments, corporations and investors should focus for the highest payoff, both financially and societally? What are the biggest problems to be solved, and thus the biggest market opportunities? A recent summary of the top nanotechnology-based products of 2003 cited ski-wax, breathable waterproof ski jackets, wrinkle and stain resistant clothing, deep-penetrating skin cream, digital camera displays, coating for sunglasses, tennis rackets and tennis balls. While these are important steps in the commercialization of nanotechnology, they do not address the important challenges facing humanity. The Millennium Project is one of the most prominent efforts to comprehensively articulate the major Global Challenges facing humanity in the new millennium, (http://www.acunu.org/millennium/challeng.html). An examination of these "Millennium Challenges" shows that a substantial number of them can be directly addressed by nanotechnology. These include achieving sustainable development, providing clean water to everyone, balancing population and resources, making powerful information technology available to everyone, combating infectious diseases, reducing the threat of terrorism, and meeting global energy needs. In addition, nanotechnology development can positively change the context for addressing many of the other challenges. An agenda for investment in nanoscience and nanotechnology to address these Millennium Challenges will be presented. Researchers and companies that are focusing on these areas will be highlighted. The need to accelerate the pace of scientific and technological breakthroughs on the nanoscale to meet these challenges in time to avoid negative consequences will also be addressed.
*Corresponding Address:
Scott Mize
Foresight Institute
PO Box 61058 , Palo Alto, CA 94306 USA
Phone: 650.289.0860 Fax: 650.289.0863
Email: foresight@foresight.org
Web: http://www.foresight.org/about/Mize.html
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