Advanced detection and analysis, coupled with proactive industry education, can pave the way for a future improved by nanomaterials
FEI is sponsoring the 2006 Safer Nano conference that will be held next week in Oregon, USA.
The conference will focus on three specific areas: safer nano-environmental, health and safety best practices; cool science, good jobs and a healthy environment; and Onami's (Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute) safer materials and nanomanufacturing kickoff.
"Having the ability to work at the nanoscale and understand the basic building blocks of our world is going to result in tremendous breakthroughs and deliver benefits for a wide variety of products and services in both the short and long term," said Skip Rung, director of Onami.
"Programmes such as the Safer Nano conference are extremely important".
"As nanoscale development progresses and we identify and utilise nanomaterials, it needs to be a clean, environment-friendly endeavour".
Nanotechnology represents a broad range of industries and applications and is perhaps best explained as the scale (below 100nm) at which most advanced research and product development is taking place.
However, as the diverse nanotechnology field at large receives increasing public exposure, education about it and its benefits is lagging, leaving room for science fiction scenarios - such as Michael Crichton's self-replicating nanobots and 'grey goo' - to grow in stature.
In reality, nanoscale technologies will have a major impact on pharmaceutical development, disease management, advanced electronics, and new, longer-lasting and safer materials and coatings that will be used in a range of products from automobiles and airplanes, to building materials and consumer goods.
In fact, consumers are already benefiting from nano-based technologies in paint finishes, cosmetics and sun screens, stain-preventing fabric coatings and more.
While many of these products make use of nanoparticles, it is important to realise that such particles have long existed without the ability to detect, see, characterise and - perhaps most importantly - control them.
"Advancements in enabling tools are supporting the drive into nanoscale research and development reaching down into the atomic scale," said Matt Harris, vice president of worldwide marketing for FEI.
"Scientists have never before had the ability to understand and control nanomaterials as they can today.
"This ability, coupled with shared industry focus on safety and management of these materials will encourage the pursuit of nanotechnology to proceed safely and with rational discussion".
Globally, government spending on nanotechnology development is projected to reach approximately US$5billion in 2006 while private investment by various industry sectors is expected to rise to nearly $6 billion in the same period.
US regulators and experts who specialise in nanotechnology have launched an effort they say will help minimise environmental and health risks that could be associated with such processes and products.
The initiative is led by Barbara Karn, manager of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) nanotechnology research programme, who is a keynote speaker at next week's Safer Nano conference.
"Key nanotechnology companies and researchers are taking responsibility to ensure that nanotech products are produced in environmentally safe ways," said Karn during the EPA's first GreenNano meeting on 16 February.
The Safer Nano Conference takes place 6-7 March 2006 at the Oregon Graduate Institute in Beaverton.
