PCAST provides assessment of US Nanotechnology Initiative
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PCAST provides assessment of US Nanotechnology Initiative www.nano.gov
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anotechnology has been a focus for scientists and governments worldwide because better understanding and control of nano-based materials and structures can lead to scientific breakthroughs in a wide variety of industries. From clean energy to electronics and from medical applications to high-strength materials and protective coatings, advancements in nanotechnology can play an important
role in nearly every technology-based sector of society. The US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a crosscutting national vision for nanotechnology research and development (R&D) in the United States. Established in 2001, the NNI is not directly funded and has no centralized budget or management, but is rather an initiative involving 20 federal
Graphic shows the “smart window” technology developed at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as part of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative. These windows employ switchable electrochromic materials—tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals in a niobium oxide matrix (shown in the inset)—that absorb different light and heat frequencies. The bright mode, which allows both light and heat through, is shown on top of the window. The cool mode, which blocks most of the heat but allows light through, is shown in the middle. And the dark mode, which blocks both heat and light, is shown at the bottom. Credit: Anna Llordés, Delia Milliron and Creative Services, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
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MRS BULLETIN
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VOLUME 40 • FEBRUARY 2015
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www.mrs.org/bulletin
departments, independent agencies, and independent commissions working together to revolutionize nanotechnology across the range of industries to the benefit of society. Coordinated by the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), the NNI is reviewed biennially by a National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel as mandated in the 21st Century Nanotechnology R&D Act of 2003. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) was designated to fill this role through Executive Order 13539 in 2004, and has now assessed the NNI five times. The fifth assessment of the NNI was reported to the President and Congress in October 2014. The assessment report characterizes the NNI as a “truly successful venture” stating that the investment of over $20 billion in nanotechnology research and development (R&D) over the duration of the initiative has led to “great success in creating the building blocks of nanoscience.” The report cites two recent examples of NNI successes: the development of “smart glass” that can alter the transmission of heat and light through the glass surface, and the proofof-concept demonstration of carbon nanotubes that degrade a class of chemical nerve agents and can be incorporated into fabrics to produce protective clothing. The NNCO also provided a number of ex
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