Margaret Glass's blog

The online application for 2011 NanoDays kits is now live!

The NISE Network renewal is exciting for many reasons – not the least of which is the continuation of NanoDays as the signature public outreach event for nanoscale science and technology. As we move into this second 5-year period, the NISE Net team will continue to develop and distribute high quality, hands-on activities for informal educators and research outreach specialists for public engagement about nano.

Summer may be drawing to a close, but the NISE Network is already gearing up for NanoDays 2011. While the finishing touches are put on some new activities and kit contents, I’d like to share some of the feedback collected from NanoDays 2010.

The NanoDays kits have been shipped and the digital resources are ready for downloading. Now it's time to get busy thinking about what you actually want to DO with all this stuff! Whether this is your first time creating a public event about nano or you are a NanoDays veteran, it helps to start planning your activities and contacting collaborators early.

The National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendment Act has not exactly taken a high priority in the 111th Congress, especially set against the backdrop of the economic turmoil of the last six months. July 6th's nanotech caucus briefing, titled simply “Understanding the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI),” is the first hint in months that this piece of legislation may be ready to move after being stalled for almost a full year. So what are the various versions of the NNI Amendment Act, and where do they stand?

Budgets have been rolling out all over DC in the past two weeks, and yesterday we finally got a glimpse of what might be in store for nanotechnology funding – more specifically, funding for education related to nano.

In DC, there is a special season inserted in the early part of the year. It falls just after the start of a new Congress and runs right up to the Cherry Blossom Festival. No, it is not 8th grade civics class field trip season - that comes later.

After getting stalled in a Senate committee last summer, H.R. 5940 (the NNI Amendments Act) languished as the failing economy took front page. The only “new” news about the NNI was the relatively dour National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report of December, 2008. Now, in the early days of the 111th Congress, the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2009 has been introduced by the House Science and Technology Committee. Will this be smooth sailing for the NNI through Congress?

With all the media attention devoted to bailouts and the Senate replacement scandal, the stalled process of NNI reauthorization tends to fall under the radar. On Dec.11, however, the National Academies released an executive summary reviewing the federal strategy of risk-assessment and management related to the environmental, health, and safety implications of nanotechnology. Does the NNI have a robust strategy in place to minimize risk to society from nanotech development? Not according to the review.

One thing that's hard to appreciate if you don't live around the Beltway is the sheer number of job changes that occur in DC after a major election. Not only will the presidency change hands in 2009, but a fair number of new legislators are coming to Congress. Add to that all of the appointees of a new administration, their related hires, staffers, aides, and interns, and it's a mini population shift. This can only mean a positive change for science and technology policy.