Nanotechnology Plan Headed to President

Spaceref.com ^ | Nov 20, 2003 | Staff

[Diddley]

Nanotechnology Plan Headed to President

Technology could create $1 trillion global market WASHINGTON, D.C. -

The House gave final approval on a plan to invest nearly $4 billion in research and development into nanotechnology. The bill, a top Science Committee priority for the year, is now cleared for approval by the President, who is expected to sign the bill.

Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) applauded passage saying, "The idea behind this bill is simple yet powerful - the American economy will grow bigger if America's scientists and engineers focus on things that are smaller. The U.S. is the leader in nanotechnology and must remain so as this new field starts remaking the marketplace. The nanotechnology program will be a model of government, university, industry cooperation, and of coordination, interdisciplinary research and public involvement."

Boehlert and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the House version of the nanotechnology bill, H.R. 766. The bill sent to the President (S.189) was almost identical to the House version and was negotiated by the Science Committee and Senate counterparts.

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of materials at the atomic scale. The National Science Foundation has estimated that nanotechnology applications may be worth more than $1 trillion in the global economy in little more than a decade.

"Experts agree that investing in innovation is the key to a vibrant U.S manufacturing base and continued generation of new jobs," said Honda. "Nanotechnology is one of the areas of innovation most worthy of investment, as it has the potential to create entirely new industries and radically transform the basis of competition in others. I applaud my colleagues for the commitment they have made today to invest in America's future by passing this important legislation."

S. 189 puts the President's National Nanotechnology Initiative into law and authorizes $3.7 billion over the next four years for the program. The bill also requires the creation of research centers, education and training efforts, research into the societal and ethical consequences of nanotechnology, and efforts to transfer technology into the marketplace. Finally, the bill includes a series of coordination offices, advisory committees and regular program reviews to ensure that taxpayer money is being spent wisely and efficiently.

The National Association of Manufacturers, Semiconductor Industry Association, Association for Computing Machinery, Computing Research Association, Nanobusiness Alliance, Association of American Universities, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America, Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, IBM, Intel, and Hewlett-Packard have all endorsed the legislation

[Diddley]

I hope that this is encouraging news.

[Consort]

Little things mean a lot.

[mylife]

Nanotechnology is so cool.

[Spruce]

...Fears by the Prince of Wales that armies of microscopic robots could turn the face of the planet into an uninhabitable wasteland have prompted the nation's top scientists and engineers to launch an inquiry...

[sourcery]

[Diddley]

Ping

[Physicist]

Technology could create $1 trillion global market

Piffle. If the technology lives up to its full potential, it will destroy almost every existing tenet of economics. Both labor and capital will become irrelevant to the creation of wealth. It will instead be a matter of energy and information.

[null and void]

We've heard that prediction before.

"New-que-lar energy will be too cheap to meter." comes to mind.

Me? I'd settle for a job in nanotech...

[Lunatic Fringe]

Both labor and capital will become irrelevant to the creation of wealth.

I believe similar comments were made about the computer in the 1950s.

[Diddley]

[7] Both labor and capital will become irrelevant to the creation of wealth. It will instead be a matter of energy and information.

An interesting concept.
Won't workers and money/equipment (capital) still be needed?
I would appreaciate any amplification
Thanks

[Momaw Nadon]

The "grey goo" concern is legitimate.

[RLK]

I hope that this is encouraging news.

----------------------------

It is to the hords of parasites getting ready to slop at this new trough.

[RadioAstronomer]

Thanks for the ping! :-)

Interesting read. I am really curious what nano tech can do for the medical field. :-)

[teldon30]

Rise of the Machines!!!!!!!!!!!

Where is Sarah Connor right now? ;)

[Dan Evans]

My concern is the "green goo" phenomenon. Every research parasite will be renaming their projects "nano-this" or "nano-that" as they belly up to this new public trough. A four billion dollar nano-hole.

[azcap]

Nanotech fascinates me and scares the bejesus out of me at the same time. I don't worry so much about machines run amok destroying the world as I do what kind of civilization we will have in a post-economic/post-scarcity world. When all of mankind no longer has to do a thing to perpetuate ourselves what will become of us. I kind of think most people will end up plugged into virtual worlds living in their own permanent daydreams.

[azcap]

"nuclear energy too cheap to meter"
Sometimes bold paradigm shifting statements like that are judged wrong too soon. Nuclear energy is only 60 years old. It is probably easier for me to believe that my grandkids in 80 years will have a personal fusion reactor in their home and unlimited free electricity than it would have been for someone in 1800 to believe that in a 120 years everyone would have magical devices in every room of their home that would turn night in to day at the flip of a switch.

[null and void]

*shrug* I've got solar...

[flutters]

I kind of think most people will end up plugged into virtual worlds living in their own permanent daydreams.

We could FReep 24/7. ;)

[Centurion2000]

Piffle. If the technology lives up to its full potential, it will destroy almost every existing tenet of economics. Both labor and capital will become irrelevant to the creation of wealth. It will instead be a matter of energy and information.

I beg to difer here ..... real estate and labor will become MORE expensive relative to the price of products, energy, and raw materials.

The bill you get for eating the steak in the restaurant or seeing a specialist laborer of some kind will be all about the labor cost.