Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

On October 29, 2015, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a blog item concerning the Nanotechnology Startup Challenge for Cancer (NSC2), “an open-innovation competition designed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the non-profit Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) to bring promising cancer nanotechnology inventions to market.”  According to OSTP, the competition “creatively combines some of the most powerful tools in the...

In September 2015, “Nano to go!” was published.  “Nano to go!” is “a practically oriented guidance on safe handling of nanomaterials and other innovative materials at the workplace.”  The German Federal Institute for Occupational Health (BAuA) developed it within the NanoValid project.  “Nano to go!” includes the following materials: A brochure, Safe handling of nanomaterials and other advanced materials at workplaces, that supports risk assessment and risk...

On October 20, 2015, the White House announced a grand challenge to develop transformational computing capabilities by combining innovations in multiple scientific disciplines.  The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) states that, after considering over 100 responses to its June 17, 2015, request for information, it “is excited to announce the following grand challenge that addresses three Administration priorities — the National Nanotechnology Initiative,...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative announced that registration is now open for an October 16, 2015, webinar entitled “Nanosensor Technologies and Applications.”  Dr. Meyya Meyyappan, Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology at NASA Ames Research Center, will lead the webinar.  He will introduce basic mechanisms of nanosensing and terminologies, and will review the current status of nanosensor development and challenges for commercial applications.  The...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative announced that registration is now open for an October 16, 2015, webinar entitled “Nanosensor Technologies and Applications.”  Dr. Meyya Meyyappan, Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology at NASA Ames Research Center, will lead the webinar.  He will introduce basic mechanisms of nanosensing and terminologies, and will review the current status of nanosensor development and challenges for commercial applications.  The webinar is supported by the...

On October 5, 2015, the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster announced that the “Closer to the Market” Roadmap (CTTM) is available for final comments.  The CTTM is intended to speed up the progress towards market implementation of nanotechnologies.  The draft CTTM identifies key challenges to be tackled immediately and in a step-by-step approach:  (1) build an inclusive collaboration network; (2) bring together scientific experts; (3) strengthen the dialog and exchange to raise...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) posted a new publication in its Series on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials, Preliminary Guidance Notes on Nanomaterials: Interspecies Variability Factors in Human Health Risk Assessment. The report includes the following recommendations for further work: The Expert Opinion prepared in support of the project noted a general lack of availability of data from repeated-dose toxicity studies in different species. In...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted on September 30, 2013, a final report entitled Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Flame-Retardant Coatings in Upholstery Textiles: A Case Study Presenting Priority Research Gaps for Future Risk Assessments. The final report presents a case study of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) used in flame-retardant coatings applied to upholstery textiles. EPA states that the case study is organized...

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office will host a series of webinars from October to December 2015 sponsored by federal agencies participating in the Nanotechnology Knowledge Infrastructure and Nanotechnology for Sensors and Sensors for Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives.  The webinar series will include an introduction to nanoinformatics, an overview of nanosensor technology and applications, a regulatory case study for the development of nanosensors, and an...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) announced on September 17, 2015, that the National Science Foundation (NSF) will provide a total of $81 million over five years to support 16 sites and a coordinating office as part of a new National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI).  The awards are for up to five years and range from $500,000 to $1.6 million each per year.  Nine of the sites have at least one regional partner institution.  The 16 sites are...