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Since nanotechnology is considered a key for the 21st century, its promises have been assessed by various scientific communities. By meeting at the nanoscale, various disciplines, from physics via chemistry to biology, from engineering to medicine, contribute synergetically to the newly created knowledge base and the resulting technological advances. Considering that large societal sectors will be impacted, the unique aspect of this two-year study was to assess nanotechnology from various interrelated perspectives: scientific progress, industrial relevance, economic potential, educational needs, potential adverse health effects, and philosophical aspects.
The goal of this study was to derive integrated recommendations which consider the large range of societal implications reflecting the different views in an integrative manner. The study attempts to link previously isolated statements, bundling the various concepts and giving unified recommendations to decision makers in relevant society sectors such as politics, economy and research. Special attention was given to the European situation with respect to commercial consequences, an aspect that has not yet received the attention it deserves so far.
List of contents
and Summaries.- Nanotechnology and Philosophy of Science.- Fields of Research and Technology.- Commercial Perspectives of Nanotechnology - An Assessment Based on Patent Data.- Risk Assessment and Risk Management.- Ethical Aspects of Nanotechnology.- Knowledge Transfer in Nanotechnology.
About the author
Armin Grunwald ist Leiter des Instituts für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse (ITAS) am Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe und Professor an der Universität Freiburg.
Peter Janich ist Professor für Philosophie an der Universität Marburg. Aus dem Konstruktivismus der Erlanger Schule kommend, ist er Mitbegründer des Methodischen Kulturalismus.
Ulrich Simon ist Archivar im Dienst des Archivs der Hansestadt Lübeck.
Viola Vogel is heading the Laboratory for Biologically Oriented Materials at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich. She received her Ph. D. in Physics at Frankfurt University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley. She joined the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington in 1990, was the Founding Director of the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Washington ('97-'03). Her interdisciplinary research program centers in bionanotechnology. She served the scientific community in many capacities which includes selection committees for the British Marshall Fund Fellowships ('93-'95), the German Ministry of Science and Education (BMBF) ('98), and as US Representative on the Council of Scientists of the Human Frontier Science Program ('03-'04). She was involved in program and technology assessments for NIH (ongoing), the National Research Council ("NASA's Microgravity Research" & "Reshape the Education in Lifesciences"), as PCAST panel member preparing for Clinton's "Presidential National Nanotechnology Initiative" ('99) and for the European Academy ('03-present). She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).
Summary
Since nanotechnology is considered a key for the 21st century, its promises have been assessed by various scientific communities. By meeting at the nanoscale, various disciplines, from physics via chemistry to biology, from engineering to medicine, contribute synergetically to the newly created knowledge base and the resulting technological advances. Considering that large societal sectors will be impacted, the unique aspect of this two-year study was to assess nanotechnology from various interrelated perspectives: scientific progress, industrial relevance, economic potential, educational needs, potential adverse health effects, and philosophical aspects.
The goal of this study was to derive integrated recommendations which consider the large range of societal implications reflecting the different views in an integrative manner. The study attempts to link previously isolated statements, bundling the various concepts and giving unified recommendations to decision makers in relevant society sectors such as politics, economy and research. Special attention was given to the European situation with respect to commercial consequences, an aspect that has not yet received the attention it deserves so far.
