Woodrow Wilson International Center

Woodrow Wilson Center Ethos

The ethos that the Woodrow Wilson Center endeavors to promote is nonpartisanship—the Center combines public policy with academic scholarship in a neutral forum dedicated to debate and dialogue about U.S. policy and international affairs. The institution awards over 20 residential academic year fellowships through an international competition. The fellowship research topics cover questions of public policy or an historical or cultural framework on contemporary policy issues. These often have military or security themes, and the radio program Dialogue, produced and broadcast by the center, is distributed by Armed Forces Radio Network as well as 200 other radio stations across the United States.

Nanotechnology Oversight

The Woodrow Wilson Center has been a regular commentator on nanotechnology, with high-profile reports published in association with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) of 2009, a collaboration (in operation since 2005) with the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit research organization for public policy. This project is an interdisciplinary effort to increase the knowledge base about nanotechnology and associated concerns by pooling data around the world from researchers, academics, governments, industry, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), policymakers, and others.

The PEN project is one of the main contributors to nanotechnology oversight exercises discussions in the United States. In addition to high-profile reports written by nanotechnology experts from many fields, significant events and forums are organized by PEN scholars for the purpose of debating nanotechnology and its role in the future. Through PEN, the Center can be seen as promoter of what has become know as “responsible innovation” in nanotechnology; PEN's mission statement reveals that “the Project is dedicated to helping ensure that as nanotechnologies advance, possible risks are minimized, public and consumer engagement remains strong, and the potential benefits of these new technologies are realized.” Well-cited reports from Woodrow Wilson on nanotechnology include Jane Macoubrie's 2005 seminal work on public perceptions of nanotechnology; Ronald Sandler's 2009 report on social and ethical issues of nanotechnology; and J Clarence Davies's 2009 report on future nanotechnology [Page 796]oversight challenges. PEN is also one of the most comprehensive inventories of nanorelated products and developments worldwide. The Website catalogs consumer products, as well as providing databases of environmental, health and safety, agriculture, food, and medical research with nanoscale implications. It also contains interactive maps that physically locate—for commercial and public interests—clusters for nanore-mediation, synthetic biology, and other nanotech-relat-ed industry, as well as education and research.