Technology and Society

Nanotechnology as a “Revolutionary Technology”:
Rhetoric, Forward-looking Statements, and Public Understanding of Science

Summary:

This project is examining the processes that are shaping public understanding of “nanotechnology” and inflecting the term with social meanings. In policy discussion and in mass media, nanotechnology is often presented as a revolutionary development that will usher in profound technical, economic, and social change. The proposed research will focus on the public presentation of nanotechnology to various audiences, with special attention to the rhetoric of forward-looking statements. A database will be created of documents that describe nanotechnology and present forward-looking statements about its likely impact. The analysis of these data has two goals: (1) improving conceptual understanding of the role of rhetoric in shaping social meanings about science; and (2) providing guidance to scientists and science communicators about how to interact more effectively with varied audiences, including members of the public, policymakers, industrial leaders, and investors. In addition to publications, the project will support workshops informed by the empirical research and aimed at improving the interactions between nanotechnologists—particularly those in the Cornell Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS)—and the various audiences.

Faculty:

Stephen Hilgartner, Associate Professor, Department of Science & Technology Studies, Cornell University.
Bruce V. Lewenstein, Associate Professor, Departments of Science & Technology Studies and of Communication. Cornell University.

Post Doctoral Associate:

Daniel Thurs, Department of Science & Technology Studies, Cornell University.

Seminars:

CNS, STS, NNIN and Communication Joint Seminar

" On the Mythology of Nanotechnology"

Abstract: The National Nanotechnology Initiative [NNI] was signed into law by President Clinton near the close of his Presidency in 2000. The NNI provides considerable funding for 2001 for work at the nanoscale, with significant increases through the first decade of the 21st century. The initiative comes with its own founding myth. In a now widely quoted speech, Plenty of Room at the Bottom (1959), Richard Feynman prophesied the development of nanotechnology. He foretold of our ability to see and manipulate matter on an atomic scale, suggesting that we might store and manipulate information on this scale. The major innovation that Feynman suggested was necessary to make this possible was the development of an electron microscope 100 times more powerful than those available in 1959. According to nanotechnologys founding myth, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer provided Feynmans dream microscope with their invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981. By 1986 Eric Drexler, in Engines of Creation, filled out Feynmans fantasies for the possibilities opened up by atomic level manufacturing, and by 1990 scientists had demonstrated the ability to see and manipulate individual atoms, most strikingly with D. M. Eigler and E. K. Schweizers IBM, composed of 35 individually placed xenon atoms. More work and a lot of politics later and we have the NNI. In my essay I examine this founding myth. While not exactly inaccurate, its primary function is mythological, not historical. The myth is here to tell us what is fundamental and perhaps revolutionary about nanotechnology. It is a story about the origins of a new age ushered in by our ability to see—and most significantly to manipulate—matter with atomic—nanoscale—precision.

Prof. Davis Baird

Philosophy and NanoCenter,
University of South Carolina

Thursday November 18, 2004

12:00 p.m.

B 08 Sage Hall

Email address

Presentations:

The Spread of Grey Goo: Fearful Publics and Fear of the Public in the Nanotechnology Arena.

Daniel Thurs and Steven Hilgartner. Nano Ethics Conference hosted by the Nanoscience & Technology Studies Program, University of South Carolina. March 2- 5, 2005. Click here for the slides of the presentation in pdf format.

Was There a Nano-fiction Before There Was a Nano-science? Anticipations of Nanotechnology in Science Fiction, 1941-2002.

Daniel Thurs. Cain Conference: "Nano Before There Was Nano: Historical Perspectives on the Constituent Communities of Nanotechnolgy", hosted by the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia. March 18 - 19, 2005. Click here for the slides of the presentation in pdf format.

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Nuggets:

The Spread of Grey Goo: Fearful Publics and Fear of the Public in the Nanotechnology Arena

Eric Drexler first coined "grey goo" in 1986 to describe self-replicating nano-scale "assemblers" breeding out of control. Grey goo has since become a common element in the anticipation of popular reaction to nanotechnology. In order to understand the role of grey goo in public discussion of nanotechnology, we have examined English-language print media and online sources, including many newspaper and magazine articles. We also relied on a supplemental database of approximately 850 informational websites, official government and NGO reports, press releases, bibliographies, scholarly papers, chat room discussions, and mass media articles on nanotechnology generally. Our analysis shows that concern has been frequently expressed that popular fear of grey goo would be a harbinger of a general backlash against nanotechnology. But there is little evidence to support this connection. Instead, grey goo has provided a rhetorical tool that has allowed supporters of nanotechnology to express and manage their own anticipatory concerns about the public possible fears.

[CNS Investigators: S. H. Hilgartner and B.V. Lewenstein]

A paper on this investigation was presented at the Nano Ethics Conference, University of South Carolina, March 2-5, 2005 and is being prepared for publication.

Was There a Nano-Fiction before There Was a Nano-Technology? "Anticipations" of Nanotechnology in Science Fiction, 1941-2002

The juxtaposition of science and science fiction has sometimes played a prominent role in shaping the emerging category of nanotechnology. This project examines early examples of "nanofiction"-works going back to the 1940s that have been identified as anticipating the revolutionary potentials of nano-scale science and engineering. This nanofiction set the stage for later boundary-making around the idea of nanotechnology and continues to shape public discussion of it. More broadly, the rise of science fiction as a means of determining the boundaries of legitimate science and technology over the latter half of the twentieth century is in itself revealing of modern ideas about science, in the same way that the proliferation of "science and religion" during the late 1800s said something about contemporary attitudes.

This figure depicts a soldier of the future as imagined by MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. It was later revealed as a partial copy of an image from a comic book called Radix.

[CNS Investigators: S. H. Hilgartner and B.V. Lewenstein]

This paper was presented at Nano before There Was Nano: Historical Perspectives on the Constituent Communities of Nanotechnology, Chemical Heritage Foundation, March 18-19, 2005, and is being prepared for publication.

Presentations:

Nanotechnology Links

Introduction to Nanotechnology

Definition of nano on the NSF website

Interagency Working Group on Nanoscience, Engineering, and Technology, Nanotechnology: Shaping the World Atom by Atom (National Science and Technology Council, 1999).
Download PDF

2002 Information Week article

2002 Time article on nanotechnology

2003 Article on "The Nanotechnology Revolution"

2002 article on Nano Hype
Part 1: http://www.larta.org/LAVox/ArticleLinks/2002/020211_nanohype.asp
Part 2: http://www.larta.org/LAVox/ArticleLinks/2002/020211_nanohype2.asp

General discussion of nanotech

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General Bibliographies

Discovering the Nanoscale nanotech bibliography - Download PDF

Nanoscience & nanotechnology bibliography

Google directory page for nanotechnology

A list of books on nanotechnology by an Amazon.com user

A list of books on the future by an Amazon.com user

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Commercialization

General

2004 List of nanoproducts by the ETC Group - Download PDF

Nanotech info sheet by UK Trade & Investment

2002 presentation on nanotechnology in business and industry

Presentation on nanotechnology and commercial applications - Download PDF

Nanotech: The Tiny Revolution (CMP Cientifica, 2002) - Download PDF

Current Activity

Announcement for a conference called Nano Meets Business, sponsored by Nanoforum.org

Download PDF

2004 article on Twin Cities companies involved in nanotech

United Press International article on a 2002 NanoBusiness Alliance organized conference

2004 NanoBusiness Alliance press release on the appointment of "Business and Science Revolutionaries" to its board of advisers

Business Advocacy/Support Groups

Larta Nano Technology Working Group

NanoBusiness Alliance

Canadian NanoBusiness Alliance

Trends and Projections

Cientifica Nanotechnology Reports

Nathan Tinker, 2001 Business of Nanotech Survey
(National NanoBusiness Alliance , 2001) - Download PDF

Perspectives: Future Tech: The Promise of Nanotechnology for Retail and Consumer Products
(Ernst & Young, 2004) - Download PDF

2004 presentation on nanotechnology and the "Next Industrial Revolution" in Colorado
Download PowerPoint

Wie Kuan Lum, Pat Martin, and Larry Pitchford, Nanotechnology: The Next Great Wave of Innovation (NOVA, 200) - Download PDF

The Nanotech Report: 2001 (Lux Capital, 2001) - Download PDF

Contents of The Nanotech Report: 2004 (Lux Capital, 2004) - Download PDF

2004 article on "5 Nanotechnologies That Could Change the World" - Download PDF

2004 Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report article on the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies and industrial links - Download PDF

2004 discussion of "Nanotechnology's Disruptive Future"

2004 article asking whether nanotech will be a bubble or save the world

2005 review of opportunities and trends in nanotech

2002 Small Times article on the anticipated "Invasion of the Lawyers" in nanotech

Report on trends in the industrial engineering research (including nano)

2004 presentation on "Nanotech: From the Lab to the Market" - Download PDF

Nanotechnology Sector Report: Technology Roadmap Project
(Center for Economic Growth, 2004) - Download PDF

Debate

Articles on Merrill Lynch's nanotech index and subsequent controversy

Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3 | Article 4 | Article 5

2002 article on "Nano Pretenders"

Particular Industries

Jeremey Donovan, Nanotechnology's First Steps in the Electronics Industry (Gartner Research, 2004) - Download PDF

Challenges

2004 Conference talk on "Challenges to Nanotechnology Development and Commercialization"

2002 article on the hurdles faced by nanotech startups

Investment

2005 Discussion with four venture capitalists with interest in nanotechnology

2002 interview with Charles Harris

2005 report on nanotechnology investments by global corporations

List of venture capital firms involved in nanotechnology

Venture capitalist advice for nanotech startups

2003 article on "Nanomaterials and Venture Capital" - Download PDF

Naoki Ikezawa, The Role of Venture Businesses in Supporting the Commercialization of Nanotechnology: NRI Papers No. 74 (Nomura Research Institute, 2004) - Download PDF

2003 article on investing in nanotech - Download PDF

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Companies

Nanosys - http://www.nanosysinc.com/

Nanosys Article - Nanotechnology May Change Lives

Konarka (power plastics) - http://www.konarkatech.com/

Zettacore (computer chips/lithography) - http://www.zettacore.com/

Nantero (computer chips/lithography, data storage) - http://www.nantero.com/

Forbes Newsletter September 2003 - Download PDF

NanoTex (fabric) - http://www.nanotex.com/

Forbes Newsletter February 2003 - Download PDF

Nanophase Technologies - http://www.nanophase.com/

Applied Nanoworks (nanoparticles) - http://www.appliednanoworks.com/

http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=97&document_id=7704

Luna nanoWorks (fullerenes, nanoparticles)

http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=97&document_id=7741

NanoLab (nanotubes)

http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=97&document_id=7533

Immunicon (medical applications)

Forbes Newsletter August 2003 - Download PDF

Quantum Dot (bio-nano applications)

Nanogen (bio-nano)

eMembrane (intelligent membranes)

http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=97&document_id=7481

Millienial Net (self-organization, sensors)

http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=97&document_id=7629

Nanosensors (sensors and probes)

Nanometrics (instrumentation)

Nanox

Forbes - Newsletter August 2003 - Download PDF

Zyvex

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Education

Homepage of the TechXplore Nanotechnology in Medicine project conducted at Columbia Middle School , Union County , NJ

Website for a course on science fiction and nanotech, Pomona College

Syllabus: Download PDF

Website for a program on science fiction and nanotech, Shaar Ha'Nagev College

Readings for a course at Rice University called Nanotechnology: Content and Context

General course site: http://kelty.rice.edu/235/

Group specializing in teaching students about technology

Materials related to ICE-9 curriculum

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Forecasting Nanotechnology

Nanomaterials and the Chemical Industry R&D Roadmap Workshop: Preliminary Results (Chemical Industry Vision 2020 Technology Partnership. 2002) - Download PDF

Chemical Industry R&D Roadmap for Nanomaterials By Design (Chemical Industry Vision 2020 Technology Partnership and Energetics, Inc., 2003) - Download PDF

1998 Student project on "Nanotechnolody and Information Technology: 2020" for a Stanford class on Forecasting the Future of Information Technology

2003 RAND Review on nanotechnology

Robert Carneiro and Arie Van Bellen, 'i2010': The Next Five Years in Information Society (Information Society Technologies, 2005) - Download Word Doc

Presentation on "A Strategy Towards Nanotechnology Applications in Construction"

Download PowerPoint File

Links to sources on future studies

Plausible Futures home page

John H. Vanston and Henry Elliot, Nanotechnology: A Technology Forecast , ed. by Larry Grulick and Michael A. Bettersworth (Technology Futures, Inc., 2003)

2002 paper on nanomedicine

Vision 2020: Nanoelectronics, At the Center of Change (EU Information and Communication Unit, 2004) - Download PDF

ESF Scientific Look Forward on Nanomedicine (European Science Foundation, 2005)

Nanotechnology Innovation for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Explosive (CBRE): Detection and Protection (AVS Science and Technology Society, 2002) - Download PDF

NSF Workshop Report on Emerging Issues in Nanoparticle Aerosol Science and Technology ( NSF? , 2003) - Download PDF

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Gray Goo

General

Wikipedia definition of grey goo

World Wide Words definition of grey goo (2001)

List of grey goo links

Definition of grey goo on Betterhumans.com

"Significant" Events

Chris Phoenix and Eric Drexler, "Safe Exponential Manufacturing," Nanotechnology , 9 June 2004

2004 articles on Drexler's recantation of grey goo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3788673.stm

http://www.nanoinvestornews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2900

http://nanotechweb.org/articles/society/3/6/1/1

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6DC1730F937A15752C1A9649C8B63

http://www.galactium.com/books_Prey.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040609072100.htm

Bill Joy on "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us"

Prince Charles and grey goo

http://www.cientifica.com/html/TNT/tnt_weekly/archive_2003/issue_7.htm

http://www.cientifica.com/archives/000196.html

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17153

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3883749.stm

Download PDF

Prince Charles vs. grey goo

2002 interview with Michael Crichton

Reviews of Prey

http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/05_03/prey_rev.php

http://nanotech-now.com/Chris-Phoenix/prey-critique.htm

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16053

ETC Group on green/grey goo - Download PDF

ETC Group on green goo - Download PDF

ETC Group on grey goo as a "red herring" - Download PDF

ETC Group on "grey governance"- Download PDF

Grey Goo and the Public

Public fear

http://www.spiked-online.com/sections/risk/debates/riskaverse/

2004 article on "Avoiding the Fear Factor"

2004 article on nanotechnology as the "Next GM"

Article on dispelling "'Grey Goo' fears"

2004 article on fear of nanotechnology

2004 article on public ignorance of nanotech

2003 article on "Nano-Nonesense"

2004 article on "The Next Big Panic"

Discussion of public perception of nanotechnology (including Chris Phoenix, Janessa Ravenwood, Paul Hughes, J. Reid, Howard Lovy)

Ralph Merkle on grey goo

Perspectives on Grey Goo

2003 Center for Responsible Nanotechnology take on grey goo

2004 article on grey goo in Europe

Grey goo in a 2003 interview with Don Eigler

2003 article on the grey goo debate

2003 Green Liberal Democrat (UK) perspective on grey goo

2004 interview with John Robert Marlow

2003 article by Glenn Fishbine on grey goo

2003 article on ETC group and nanotech (including grey goo)

2003 article on "Nanotech vs. the Environmentalists" - Download PDF

Grey goo school project - Download PDF

2004 Institute of Physics press release on grey goo fear - Download PDF

Church of Grey Gooo

Online discussion of grey goo (including Chris Phoenix and John Robert Marlow)

2002 comments on grey goo and religion

2004 aritlce on the "Promise and Perils of the Nanotech Revolution"

Confronting Grey Goo

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology on the dangers of molecular nanotechnology

Robert Freitas on global ecophagy

2004 proposal for preventing grey goo

Foresight guidelines on molecular nanotechnology (draft version)

Foresight guidelines on molecular nanotechnology, version 4.0

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Concern over Nanotechnology

2004 Washington Post Article on Nanotech's "Big Unkowns"

2002 proposal for an "Inner Space Treaty" to ban nano-weapons

European report on nanotechnology risks

2003 article on critics of nanotechnology

2001 Reason article on a "Global Anti-Technology Movement"

2001 Reason article on "Nanotech Negativism"

Other Bailey articles: http://reason.com/opeds/bailey.shtml

2004 article on "Federal Officials Call for Scrutiny of Nanotechnology"

NanoShite (site of a self-described "nano-apostate" from Australia )

2003 article on building public trust

Down on the Farm: The Impact of Nano-Scale Technologies on Food and Agriculture (ETC Group, 2004) Download PDF

The Big Down: Atomtech - Technologies Converging at the Nanoscale (ETC Group, 2003)
Download PDF

ETC Group on converging technology - Download PDF

ETC Group press releases

ETC Group on moratorium on nanoparticle production - Download PDF

ETC Group on Royal Society Report - Download PDF

http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/NR_RSfinreport.finaldoc.pdf

ETC Group nano-related occasional paper

ETC Group nano-related Genotypes

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Nanotechnology and the Environment

Alexander Huw Arnall, Future Technologies, Today's Choices (Greenpeace Environmental Trust, 2003)

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/5886.pdf

2003 article on environmental nanotechnologies - Download PDF

EPA Nanotechnology and the Environment: Applications and Implications ( National Center for Environmental Research, 2002) - Download PDF

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology's "Technical Commentary on Greenpeace Report"

Links to reports on nanotechnology and the environment

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology on Greenpeace Report

2000 Ecologist article on nanotechnology

Blog entry on EPA funding for research into the health effects of nanoparticles

2002 article on environmentalists wariness of nanotech

2003 Green Alliance paper on "Technology, Risk and the Environment"

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Nanotech and Regulation

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, Forward to the Future: Nanotechnology and Regulatory Policy (Pacific Research Institute, 2002) - Download PDF

Ahson Wardak, Nanotechnology and Regulation: A Case Study Under the Toxic Substance Control Act ( Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2003) - Download PDF

2003 paper on international regulation of nanotech

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Public Opinion

2000 compilation of public opinion polls on GM foods

2003 prediction of a "Nanotechnology Backlash"

2004 press release on North Carolina State nanotech survey

2003 poll on GM foods by Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology - Download PDF

2002 internet survey on nanotechnology

North Carolina State University survey on nanotechnology - Download PDF

2004 press release on Royal Society/Royal Academy of Engineering survey

BMRB Social Research, Nanotechnology: Views of the General Public ( ??? , 2004)
Download PDF

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Managing Nanotechnology

Nanoforum Energy Report: Nanotechnology Helps Solve The Worlds' Energy Problems
(Nanoforum, 2004)

http://www.nanoforum.org/dateien/temp/EnergyReport140104.pdf?20042005174017 (directly)

Nanoforum Energy Report: Nanotechnology Helps Solve The Worlds' Energy Problems
(Nanoforum, 2003)

http://www.nanoforum.org/dateien/temp/ER%20April%202004%20total.pdf?20042005174151 (direct)

http://www.esf.org/publication/196/ESPB23.pdf

Paul Davies, Managing Risks from Nanotechnology (Health and Safety Commission, 2004)
Multiple PDF Files:

Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and Uncertainties (Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering , 2004)

Presentation on "From Biotechnology to Nanotechnology" - Download PDF

Interagency Working Group on Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology, Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for Nanotechnology R&D in the Next Decade (National Science and Technology Council, 1999) - Download PDF

Interagency Working Group on Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology, Nanostuctured Science and Technology (National Science and Technology Council, 1999) - Download PDF

Mihail C. Roco and William Sims Bainbridge, eds., Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance ( NSF/DOC? , 2002) - Download PDF

Report of the Nanogeoscience Workshop (NSF, 2002) - Download PDF

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology's "Thirty Essential Studies"

http://www.crnano.org/Top%2030.pdf

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Nanotechnology in the US

US National Nanotechnology Initiative

M.C. Roco, National Nanotechnology Investment in the FY 2003 Budget Request by the President , presented 12 February 2002 and the AAAS/ASME Briefing, Washington DC

M.C. Roco, National Nanotechnology Investment in the FY 2004 Budget Request
Download PDF

M.C. Roco, "National Nanotechnology Initiative and a Global Perspective," presented at "Small Wonders," Exploring the Vast Potential of Nanoscience [NSF] in Washington DC on 19 March 2002 - Download PDF

Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology, National Nanotechnology Initiative: The Initiative and Its Implementation Plan (National Science and Technology Council, 2000) Download PDF

National Research Council, Small Wonders, Endless Frontiers: A Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (National Academies Press, 2002)

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Opportunities and Challenges in California ( California Council on Science and Technology, 2004)(can download from here)

Richard W. Siegel, Evelyn Hu, and M.C. Roco, WTEC Workshop Report on R&D Status and Trends in Nanoparticles, Nanostructured Materials, and Nanodevices in the United States (International Technology Research Institute, 1998) Download PDF

President Clinton's 2000 remarks on nanotechnology (edited version | full version)

Evaluation report of Nano in the U.S. Download PDF

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Nanotech in Europe

Alfred Nordmann, ed., Converting Technologies: Shaping the Future of European Societies (European Research Commission, 2004) Download PDF

Towards a European Strategy for Nanotechnology
(Commission of the European Communities, 2004) - Download PDF

Articles on European nanotechnology

http://www.cordis.lu/nanotechnology/src/pe_articles_papers.htm (news and paper)

EurActiv (source of EU public policy discussion, including on nanotechnology)

Morten Bogedal, et. al., Nanotech and Its Implications for the Health of the EU Citizen
(Nanoforum, 2003)

Nanoforum.org - Nanotechnology and its implication for the Health of the EU Citizen (direct)

CORDIS ( Nanotechnology Service of the European Commission)

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Nanotechnology in Asia

Description of a report on "Nanotechnology in South Korea 2004"

Korean National Nanotechnology Information Program overview - Download PDF

List of South Korean companies with links to nanotech

Overview of Korean National Nanotechnology Initiative Download PDF

List of Japanese companies with links to nanotech

1996 overview of nanotechnology in Japan

2003 article on nanotech in Japan

Nanotechnology Research Network Center of Japan

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Nanotechnology around the World

2001 article by M.C. Rocco on international nanotech strategy - Download PDF

Global funding for nanotech research

2005 report on nanotechnology and the developing world

Nanotechnology in Australia

International conference on nanotech

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General Scholarly Articles

Discovering the Nanoscale Davis Baird, Alfred Nordmann, and Joachim Schummer, eds. ( Amsterdam : IOS Press, 2004)

http://cms.ifs.tu-darmstadt.de/fileadmin/phil/nano/toc.html

David Baird, "Navigating Nano Through Society," 2004 - Download PDF

Alfred Nordman, "Nanoscale Research: Application Dominated, Finalized, or 'Techno'-Science?" -
Download PDF

Lowndes F. (Rick) Stephens, "News Narratives about Nano: How Journalists and the News Media Are Framing Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiatives and Issues," presented at Imaging and Imagining Nanoscience & Engineering Conference, University of South Caroline, Columbia, SC, March 4-7, 2004 - Download PDF

Alison Anderson, Alan Petersen, and Stuart Allan, "Nanotechnology in the News: Representing Risk," presentation given at 4S/EASST meeting in Paris , August 2004 - Download PDF

Hyle: International Journal for the Philosophy of Chemistry , special issue on Nanotech Challenges

http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/10-2/index.html (part 1)
http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/11-1/index.html (part 2)

Techne: Research in Philosophy and Technology , special issue on Nanotech Challenges
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v8n2/

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Social and Economic Impact

Nanotechnology and the Poor: Opportunities and Risks (Meridian Institute, 2005)

University of South Carolina nano Science & Technology Studies Departmetne SEI links

2003 article on ethics in nanotechology - Download PDF

2004 student paper on "SEI Questions of Definition & Power," May 2004

2003 article by M.C. Roco on SEI - Download PDF

2004 Department of Energy on "Ethical, Societal, and Environmental Considerations"
Download PDF

Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NSF, 2001) - Download PDF

2003 article on "Science and Ethics in Nanotechnology" - Download PDF

Stephen Wood, Richard Jones, and Alison Geddart, The Social and Economic Challenges of Nanotechnology (Economic & Social Research Council, 2003)

Paper on "Science and Politics in the GM Food Controversy" - Download PDF

University of South Carolina nano Science & Technology Studies Department -

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History of Nanotech

Discussion of a Financial Times article's characterization of the history of nanotech/bots

"Nanoscience timeline" from 1959 to 2001

2002 IBM Research Timeline

Short historical overview of nanotechnology

Nanotechnology timeline from 1959 to 1986

Press kit on the general history (website)

Timeline including atomic-scale manipulation from 1980 to 1994

Visual timeline from 1959 to 2004

Timeline of nano-developments from 1 billion years ago to present - Download PDF

Richard Feynman's 1959 "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom"

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Future of Nanotech

Future Hi nanotechnology page

Nanotechnology applications by science fiction author Charles Platt

Alternate timeline involving self-replicating nanobots

Timeline for making molecular assemblers

1999 graph of trends from 1950 to 2050

Timeline by Ray Kurzweil from the big bang to 2099

Wikipedia entry on the " 21 st Century"

2005 Timeline of Future Technology

Wikipedia entry on "Timeline of the future in forecasts"

Ars Electronica "Timeline+25" (open for anyone to post future events)

Timeline from present to approximately 10 years from now

2004 far future "Technology Timeline"

2004 far future "Nanotech Era" timeline - Steve Bowers (text)

Lukol directory of sites on future predictions

Compuserve directory of sites on future predictions

Google directory of sites on future predictions

2005 Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Timeline

http://www.crnano.org/timeline.htm (actual timeline)

2001 future timeline of nanotechnology in business

Molecular nanotechnology timeline

2004 report including future predictions and timeline

Discussion of futurism in talk about nano (mostly Smalley and Drexler) Download PowerPoint

Timeline of future nanotech by Merrill Lynch - Download PDF

Technology timelines by topic - Download PDF

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Science Fiction

2002 articles on Institute for Nanotechnologies' comic book soldier

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/191/nationalnews.html
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V122/N35/35comic.35n.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002-08-28-mit-soldier_x.htm
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,54815,00.html

Site listing several recent examples of "nano-fiction"

Nanotechnology in Science Fiction

Anthony Napier's "Nano Wars" homepage

1989 comment on utility fog

1999 discussion on the history of the idea of "utility fog"

2004 comments on utility fog

Science fiction as real world inspiration

Science Fiction Timeline with nanotech

2000 nanotechnology and science fiction chat involving M. Todd Washington, Stephen Gillett, Kathleen Ann Goonan, and Wil McCarthy

2000 nanotechnology and science fiction chat involving Kathleen Ann Goonan and Wil McCarthy

2002 chat on the "singularity" and science fiction involving Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil

Tony Miksanek, "Microscopic Doctors and Molecular Black Bags: Science Fiction's Prescription for Nanotechnology and Medicine," Literature and Medicine 20 (Spring 2001) 55-70