Today the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a report to President Barack Obama warning that private and public investment in nanotechnology in the U.S. is falling behind that of other nations. China, in particular, is coming on strong, having recently surpassed the U.S. in the number of nanotechnology patents it’s applied for.
Overall, investment by other countries grew by 27 percent between 2003 and 2008, compared to only 18 percent by the U.S.
The Council presented a number of proposed actions to help the U.S. maintain its lead in the field, including:
[…]the working group called for a $2 million budget increase — up from the current $3 million — to strengthen the National Nanotechnology Coordinating Office, which oversees the [National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)].
And they recommend the NNI — which has funneled $12 billion in investments through 25 federal agencies over the past decade — increase its investment in manufacturing of nanomaterials by 100 percent over the next five years.
The report also calls for programs to retain scientific and engineering talent trained in the United States, such as the development of permanent resident cards for foreign nationals who get an advanced degree in science or engineering at a U.S.-accredited institution and can prove they are working in science or engineering fields.
And it calls for better ways to track the impact of nanotechnology on the economy, the environment and health.
As research goes beyond “proof of concept” nanotechnology and continues to show practical uses, the investments will come. I hope the U.S. government will do its part to exercise a light regulatory touch to encourage additional private development.
[...] U.S. lagging behind other countries on nanotechnology investments … [...]