US plans huge spend on nanotechnology

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
The Nanotechnology Research and Development Act budgets $2.36bn (£1.48bn) over three years, an average of $787m annually, for nanotechnology research and grants to universities and private corporations. That's less than the White House's request for $847m next year, and about 10 percent more than the current level of federal spending of $774m. "The American people could see great advances in materials, manufacturing, telecommunications, and computing as a result of this research, John Linder said during a floor discussion that lasted almost three hours. He said nanotechnology is "one of the most promising and exciting fields of science today." Nanotechnology refers to working with materials in the 1- to 100-nanometer range, a process that could create useful new substances, aid in medicine and accelerate computers. Nanotechnology's proponents hope to revolutionise the way manufacturing works. Instead of grinding, milling and sawing materials through inefficient, top-down processes, materials would be manipulated at the molecular level. As previously reported by CNET News.com, scientists at IBM Research have discovered a new way to force carbon nanotubes to emit light, which could eventually lead to advances in fibre-optic technology. Hewlett-Packard is trying to develop molecular circuits for chips. During Wednesday's discussion, there was little opposition to increased federal funding. Instead, before approving the overall spending bill by an overwhelming margin, politicians jousted over amendments about "social and ethical concerns" relating to nanotech. By voice vote, the House agreed to an amendment proposed by Eddie Bernice Johnson, that would create a citizen's advisory committee of "nonscientific and nontechnical" Americans with the task of considering the possible threat of nanotechnology. This is "a simple amendment that allows for some type of public input as we move along into this new area of nanotechnology," Johnson said. Without her amendment, Johnson said, "we'll have a lot of demonstrators that will be marching to find out what's going on." Johnson was referring to the fear that if hypothetical nanomachines -- which do not (yet) exist -- escape from the lab and reproduce in the wild, they could wreak havoc on the planet. Because the business of nanotechnology is still in its early stages, no specific regulatory proposals have been advanced so far. But the liberal ETC Group has called for a global moratorium on manufacturing nanomaterials, and Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy famously warned that mankind must not unleash nanotechnology because it could "destroy the biosphere on which all life depends." Michael Crichton's novel "Prey," published last year, ponders what would happen if malicious, fictitious nanobots escaped from a lab. Also during the debate, Sheila Jackson offered and then withdrew a related amendment that would have created a "Centre for Societal, Ethical, Educational, Environmental, Legal, and Workforce Issues Related to Nanotechnology." "We've seen a troubling development in the have-nots of our society finding themselves on the wrong end of the technological divide," Jackson-Lee said. "Change has not made its way into every area of our community. People are being left behind...(I want to) ensure that nanotechnology works for all Americans." Likening the threat of problematic nanotech to the fast-growing kudzu plant, Brad Miller said it was prudent to be cautious. "Now 7m acres of the South are covered by kudzu," Miller said. "It covers crops, it covers barns, it covers houses. Many of us suspect we have lost slow-moving relatives to the kudzu. I very much want to make sure that we're not turning loose upon the world a molecular atomic kudzu." Details The bill would also:
  • Steer nanotech funds to "historically black colleges and universities and those serving large proportions of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, or other underrepresented populations."
  • Establish a National Nanotechnology Research and Development Program that would work to commercialize nanotechnology. It would also be responsible for evaluating "the potential implications of human performance enhancement and the possible development of nonhuman intelligence."
  • Divvy up the total funds among the National Science Foundation, which would receive nearly half, followed by the Department of Energy and other smaller recipients among federal agencies.
  • Require the National Academy of Sciences to conduct periodic reviews of federal nanotech spending at least once every three years.
  • Create a National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, with a full-time staff, that will become a central point of contact for "government organizations, academia, industry, professional societies, and others to exchange technical and programmatic information."
The Senate is considering a parallel proposal called the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which has 13 sponsors.
See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

bootlegger

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

3 hours ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out
tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

5 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

10 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

20 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

2 days ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint