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On February 22, 2008, the European Commission (EC) announced the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) Joint Technology Initiative (JTI), which is endorsed by the Council of Ministers and by the European Parliament. Over the next ten years, € 3 billion will be invested in nanoelectronics.  The ENIAC JIT is a public-private partnership that targets nanoelectronics.  Under the ENIAC JIT, the EC and European Union (EU) member states who wish to...

On January 2, 2008, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) released its Strategic Plan, which describes NNI’s investment strategy and the program component areas called for by the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003. Under the Act, NNI must update its Strategic Plan every three years, and this plan updates and replaces the December 2004 plan. The Strategic Plan outlines the goals and priorities of NNI and describes approaches for achieving them. NNI...

On November 19, 2007, Environmental Defense (ED) issued a press release that states that the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is not effectively addressing the potential risks of nanotechnology, and that a potential model for resolving the conflict between NNI’s dual charges to both promote and oversee the technology could be drawn from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Like the NNI, the AEC, first established in 1946, was tasked with both encouraging the development...

On October 31, 2007, the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Research and Science Education Subcommittee held a hearing on the relationship between environmental and health policy and nanotechnology. The Subcommittee examined how the U.S. can stay at the forefront of scientific research and development, while at the same time establishing priorities and a detailed plan for research on the potential environmental and health risks of engineered nanomaterials. The...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) recently released a brochure entitled “Big Things from a Tiny World.” The brochure is intended for general readers rather than scientists, and describes what nanotechnology is, what nanotechnology-related products are available now, and the potential contributions of nanotechnology to address issues such as clean, renewable energy, clean water, and medical devices and drugs. The brochure also describes potential technological...

In a March 15, 2007, letter, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which was created to accelerate the discovery, development, and deployment of nanoscale science and technology. For fiscal year 2006, NNI received $1.2 billion in research and development funding, and 22 federal agencies, including the...