United States

[Page 783]Public Policies, Programs, and Intermediaries

Nanotechnology research in the United States received public sponsorship before 1990 through existing R&D programs. For example, several divisions at the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded “bottoms-up” early nanotechnology research proposals. The early 1990s saw the initial stage of nanotechnology assessments and policy studies. The first large-scale interagency study of nanotechnology was organized by the NSF in 1997. Commitment by the U.S. government to nanotechnology was reflected in a prominent speech by President Bill Clinton at Caltech in 2000, resulted in the formation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in 2001 to coordinate U.S. national nanotechnology programs.

The guiding legislative framework for U.S. nanotechnology development was established in 2003 with the passage of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. The Act defined multiple national goals for U.S. nanotechnology development, including fostering research capabilities, user facilities, interdisciplinary research, advancing industrial applications and competitiveness, education and training, and consideration of ethical, legal, environmental, and other societal concerns. The Act recognized the leading role of the NNI as an umbrella organization to develop and coordinate federal policies, R&D activities, technology transfer, education, infrastructure investments, and responsible technology development in the nanotechnology domain. The Act was scheduled for reauthorization in 2009.

Federal agency participation in NNI expanded from six in 2001 to 26 by 2006. Thirteen of these agencies are involved in R&D budgeting, and 13 others participate as in-kind partners. The NNI operates under the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), within the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. Technical and administrative support to the NSET Subcommittee is provided through the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). The NNI undertakes cross-agency communication and dissemination and participates in budgetary priority setting, along with the federal agencies that provide funding for nanotechnology-related activities to individual investigators and to research centers. NNI activities are reviewed by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), with major assessments published in 2005 and 2008.

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