National Nanotechnology Initiative at Ten: Nanotechnology Innovation Summit

WASHINGTON, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI), in cooperation with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), announced today a National Nanotechnology Innovation Summit to mark the 10th anniversary of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to be held December 8-10, 2010 at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.  The event, in cooperation with OSTP and NNCO and organized by NSTI, with key support from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), will serve as a forum for the nation’s nanotechnology innovators, investors, policy makers and leading corporate developers and integrators.

Since its formal launch in 2001 under President Clinton, the National Nanotechnology Initiative has strategically invested and coordinated over $12 billion in nanotechnology development. The NNI Nanotechnology Innovation Summit will spotlight revolutionary technologies from the 10-year NNI funding effort, with a special emphasis on showcasing commercially transformational technologies directly funded or catalyzed by the multi-agency partnership of the NNI.  Participants will hear from some of the top researchers, industry leaders, technology investors and visionary policy makers of our time as they speak about the impact of nanotechnology innovation over the past 10 years and look toward the future.  

“This Summit will be an unprecedented gathering of U.S. world-class revolutionary technologists and leaders from the 25 supporting government agencies that have participated in pushing forward U.S. technology leadership through nanotechnology innovation,” said Clayton Teague, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office.  “The National Nanotechnology Initiative has catalyzed U.S. global leadership in nanoscale innovation and implementation, impacting most every aspect of our country from clean and traditional energy, health and medicine, electronics, agriculture, materials, transportation and more. This multi-disciplinary, multi-industry, multi-agency effort to realize the NNI vision, ‘a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a revolution in technology and industry that benefits society,’ has received strong support from three Presidential administrations and Congress since its inception.”

Key Summit Speakers and Programs Include

• John Holdren, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Director and Science & Technology Advisor to President Barack Obama
• John Marburger, Previous White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Director & Technology Advisor to President George W. Bush
• Neal Lane, Previous White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Director & Technology Advisor to President Bill Clinton
• Francis S. Collins, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Director
• Patrick D. Gallagher, National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), Director
• Zachary J. Lemnios, Department of Defense, Defense Research & Engineering, Director
• Clayton Teague, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Director

Nanotech Innovators - Showcase your Technologies:  A focal part of this event will be the NNI Nanotechnology Innovation Showcase.  The Showcase will feature nanotech funding success stories – technologies and applications that will be impacting, or are currently impacting the commercial marketplace. Organizations (corporations, labs, universities, start-ups) with technologies that have been funded by a NNI participating agency are encouraged to apply.  Evaluation criteria and the application guidelines can be found at:  http://www.nsti.org/events/NNI/showcase/

Nanotech Researchers - Meet the NNI Partner Agencies and Program Managers:  The Summit will be preceded by a one-day program of workshops where researchers, entrepreneurs and investors can meet NNI agency Program Directors, discuss the goals and directions of these agency program areas, and meet directly with the decision-makers behind the NNI programs.  The pre-conference day also will offer tutorials on topics such as best practices for commercializing breakthrough energy technologies and taking advantage of the SBIR program.  For more information and to register for the Workshop and Summit, visit:  http://www.nsti.org/events/NNI

About the National Nanotechnology Initiative

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is the program established in fiscal year 2001 to coordinate Federal nanotechnology research and development. The NNI provides a vision of the long-term opportunities and benefits of nanotechnology. By serving as a central locus for communication, cooperation, and collaboration for all Federal agencies that wish to participate, the NNI brings together the expertise needed to guide and support the advancement of this broad and complex field.  The NNI creates a framework for a comprehensive nanotechnology R&D program by establishing shared goals, priorities, and strategies, and it provides avenues for each individual agency to leverage the resources of all participating agencies.

The Summit is in cooperation with the 25-agency membership of the National Nanotechnology Initiative including:

• Department of Commerce
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Patent and Trademark Office
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• US Department of Agriculture
  • National Institute of Food & Agriculture
  • US Forest Service
• Department of Defense
  • Air Force Office of Science Research
  • Army Engineering R&D Center
  • Army Research Laboratory
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Defense Research & Engineering
  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • Office of Naval Research
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
  • Office of Science
  • Office of Basic Energy Science
  • Office of Fossil Energy
  • Office of Industrial Technologies
  • Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
• Department of Health and Human Services
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health
  • Food & Drug Administration
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of the Interior
  • US Geological Survey
• Department of Justice
• Department of Labor
  • Occupational Safety & Health Administration
• Department of State
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Treasury
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Intelligence Community
• International Trade Commission
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Science Foundation
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission

About the Nano Science and Technology Institute

The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) advances and integrates nano and other advanced technologies through education, conventions, publishing, and research services. NSTI produces the annual Nanotech conference and expo, which attracts more than 5,000 industrial, academic, business and governmental attendees from around the world.  It is the largest gathering of the nanotechnology industry in the U.S.  NSTI was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with offices in Texas and California.

SOURCE NSTI