The Nanotech BC Blog: Spreading the Word

I've been a bit of an absentee landlord with this blog lately, but that's only because a lot has been happening.

First off, Vancouver's own Georgia Straight had a feature article on Nanotechnology that Alan Guest, the Executive Director of Nanotech BC contributed to. It's a good article and manages to present nanotechnology in a reasonable light -- as neither a world-devouring existential threat nor the key to a sci-fi utopia. Bit by bit an understanding of "nano" as a scale for technology rather than a distinct technology itself is filtering into the public.

Next, I was off to Oregon for ONAMI's Micro Nano Breakthrough Conference. The event was fascinating and a lot of fun. They had around three hundred attendees and some truly remarkable speakers. The two that stood out for me were Clayton Teague the NNCO Director and R. Stanley Williams of Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. In particular I was amazed at what Hewlett-Packard is up to. It'll be interesting to see where the memristor takes us...

The Nanotech BC Blog: Social Issues in Nanotechnology

Soft Machines is one of my favorite nanotechnology blogs -- lucid, balanced and informed. Richard Jones's latest is a two-part article on the history of nanotechnology and the social interests that are propelling it.

The first part focuses on where nanotechnology has come from. The second looks at the social issues and groups that are affecting where it's going.

What particularly impressed me was Jone's recognition that science in general and nanotechnology in particular serve as a mirror for social and cultural fears and aspirations.

Technologies don’t exist or develop in a vacuum, and nanotechnology is no exception; arguments about the likely, or indeed desirable, trajectory of the technology are as much about their protagonists’ broader aspirations for society as about nanotechnology itself.

The Nanotech BC Blog: Watch and Learn

Soft Machines led me to homunculus which in turn led me to Nano2Hybrids...

It's one thing to read about nanotechnology, but now you can watch it happening. Over the next three years Nano2Hybrids is going to be posting video diaries recording real experimental nanotechnology research.

Are you ready to see what science looks like? It might not be pretty...

Not quite ready for that? Brush up on the basics with the Top 10 things to know about nanotechnology.

The Nanotech BC Blog: Talking about Nanotech

Richard Jones at Soft Machines has been writing lately about new and promising developments in the British nanotechnology community. His post on Friday was particularly interesting, focusing not on the science of nanotechnology, but on the challenges we face in deciding how, when or if to apply it. It appears that the technical challenges of nanotech might be the easy part. In reference to All Talk? Nanotechnology and public engagement:

On the one hand, there was the view that Science itself provides clear answers to policy questions; for example, given the correct information the need for GM food to feed the world’s population and nuclear energy to power it would become obvious. As for policy, we have a representative democracy to ensure that the people’s views are represented; it is politicians, not opinion polls, who ought to decide these issues, and public engagement is really just a question of the print and broadcast media informing people. On the other hand, we heard that the direct action and controversy-stoking of the social movements are the only way that opposing views can properly be heard, and that irrationality is a legitimate tool in the face of the entrenched hegemony of technoscience.

Perhaps it's natural that such potentially revolutionary technologies like nanotech end up dividing people into almost cartoonishly stark camps -- natural but depressing. My own sense is that there is a general inability in the scientific community to communicate the possibilities of nanotechnology in terms that make sense to regular people. That leads to misunderstandings and frustration on both sides and makes compromise very difficult.

Jones links to an interesting post by policy maker David Bott who also attended the same meeting as Jones and proposes the only real way out of the communication impasse that cutting-edge science often finds itself in:

If you are a scientist, I think there is real value in taking the time to explain what you do, and why you do it, to those who are not scientists, but only if you listen to what they say in return.

The Nanotech BC Blog: No Progress Without an Informed Public

Nanodot links to a very interesting paper: Nanotechnology Policy: An Analysis of Transnational Governance Issues Facing the United States and China. One of the most significant issues raised was about the general level of understanding of nanotechnology:

...publics throughout the world remain largely in the dark about nanotechnology. A major study, funded by the NSF and conducted in 2004 by Michael Cobb and Jane Macoubrie at North Carolina State University (NCSU), found that 80 percent to 85 percent of the American public has heard “little” or “nothing” about nanotechnology.47 Similarly, a nationally representative, August 2006 poll of over 1,000 adults, commissioned by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, found similar results, with about 70 percent of the public reporting that they have heard little to nothing at all about nanotechnology. These findings are consistent with similar polls that have been commissioned in Europe and Canada, and it is possible that these trends associated with low levels of public of understanding of nanotechnology would also occur in China as well.

The paper goes on to point out that a lack of understanding of what nanotechnology actually is can lead quickly to a consumer backlash -- a backlash that nanotechnology can't afford as it's making it's first tentative steps into commercialization.

How do we avoid this?

... coordinated nanotechnology education and engagement programs will be needed, supported by both government and industry. These efforts will have to be structured to reach a wide range of consumers, many of which may have little to no scientific or technical training. Establishing such a widespread public engagement campaign will require the use of both traditional media outlets—such as print, radio, television, and film—alongside more non-traditional media outlets—such as the Internet, weblogs, games, and podcasts—to capture the attention of a diverse range of individuals in various age, gender, and socioeconomic categories.

Which is very much the mandate of Nanotech BC -- to build an inclusive nanotechnology community that addresses the needs of researchers, businesses and consumers. We have a collection of papers about a wide range of nanotechnology topics and hold events throughout the year. Stay tuned for more opportunities to get involved with one of the technologies that will shape our future.

The Nanotech BC Blog: Keeping our Eyes on the Road

There's a great post up on Soft Machines describing different types of "nanohysteria" --

Nanohysteria comes into different varieties too. Type 1 nanohysteria is represented by greed driven “irrational exuberance”, and is based on the idea that nanotechnology will change everything very soon, as touted by investment tipsters and consultants who want to take people’s money off them. What’s wrong with this is the absence of critical thought. Type 2 nanohysteria is the opposite - fear driven irrational paranoia exemplified by the grey goo scenario of out of control self-replicating molecular assemblers or nanobots. What’s wrong with this is again, the absence of critical thought.

In any journey it's natural to imagine what the destination will be like. There's nothing wrong with speculation but problems come up when we mistake our speculation for reality.

Developments in nanotechnology are starting to come thick and fast and each one can seem like the last step before utopia or world devastation. The potential of nanotechnology seems limitless -- so much so that it's easy for even the most intelligent person to get lost in fantasy.

Just about any prediction about the future of nanotechnology, from the most optimistic to the most dire, could be true -- but it's exactly when anything seems possible that it's most crucial to focus on what we know now.

The Nanotech BC Blog: The Customer is Always Right

Over the next few years, whether we know it or not, we will begin using and living with products that depend on the sometimes uncanny properties that can come from nanotech. On the verge of any change that promises to saturate our lives so completely, there's an obligation to ask a simple question: What can go wrong?

Part of the mandate of Nanotech BC is to encourage discussion about NE3LS -- Nanotechnology, Environment, Ethics, Economics, Legal and Safety issues. We need to find ways to enjoy the rewards of nanotechnology without making mistakes that harm health or the environment.

As nanotechnology moves into the marketplace, the roll of watchdog will increasingly be taken up by business and consumer groups. Consumer Report is already doing that, looking at nanoparticles in sunscreen. Nanowerk contributes to the analysis, looking at how or if nanoparticles might be a danger.

Criticism and analysis is a sign of success. The fact that consumer publications are aware of nanotechnology speaks to the growing acceptance of nanotech. Thorough study of any new material is essential, but laboratory testing is only one part of the equation -- consumers need to be informed. Everybody has a stake in the development of safe nanotech, and everybody should have a voice.

The Nanotech BC Blog: Good Things Start Small

I'm eager to get started posting about all of the amazing things going on in the world of nanotechnology, but before I do I thought it might make sense to write a little about who we are at Nanotech BC, what we're trying to do, and what this blog is for. Nanotech BC is a not-for-profit organization started as a collaboration between British Columbia's business, scientific and governmental communities. Nanotech BC has three goals:

• To advocate for growth of BC's nanotechnology research and development community and infrastructure.
• To communicate with industrial, academic, government and public stakeholders to increase awareness of nanotechnology.
• To represent BC's nanotechnology interests and pursue partnerships nationally and internationally.

This blog is one of the ways we are working to achieve these goals. Research and development in nanotechnology is progressing at a blistering pace and we want this blog to be a record of what's happening, particularly in BC. You'll find regular updates on the science and business of nanotechnology as well as thoughts on where nanotechnology is going and what it means for BC. Community is built through discussion and we hope that this blog will help get people thinking and talking about nanotechnology and the exciting challenges and promises that it brings.