European Commission gives grant to investigate transatlantic oversight o...(technology development and oversight. A...)

The first generation of nanotechnology applications and products is here. Second generation uses in electronics, sensors, targeted drugs and active nanostructures are emerging. But capabilities of these early nanotechnology products pale in comparison to third and fourth generation applications in areas such as robotics, multiscale chemical and bio-assembly, and supramolecular structures. This project is aimed at helping governments, businesses and scientists around the world make informed policy decisions that will not only help protect the public today, but ensure continued and responsible technological development in the future.

ELI President Leslie Carothers lauds the potential for international cooperation on nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety governance. According to Carothers:

This inventive, transatlantic research partnership is an essential step forward and will make an important contribution at a critical juncture in the development of governance structures for nanotechnologies worldwide. With hundreds of nanotechnology-enabled products already available to the public and many more reaching the marketplace each year, the need for effective governance structures to manage the potential risks associated with nanotechnologies becomes more and more urgent. This project will help inform ongoing and future efforts in the US to develop much-needed regulatory and alternative nanotech governance tools.

The aim of the project is threefold:

• To produce high quality analysis of the comparative dimensions of nanotechnologies regulation in the EU and U.S.;

• To publish and widely disseminate policy-relevant research results that will assist policy processes and debates on both sides of the Atlantic;

• To create greater awareness among decision-makers and opinion formers for congruent a
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