Aug 4 2008
Key figures from around the world will gather to discuss the prospects and priorities for public funding of nanotechnology at Nanotech Northern Europe 2008. The global nanotechnology debate will be co-moderated by BusinessWeek technology correspondent Jennifer L. Schenker and Pekka Koponen, CEO of Spinverse.
- Richard M. Russell, Deputy Director at Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the President, USA
- Christos Tokamanis, Head of the unit ‘Nano and Converging Sciences and Technologies’, European Commission
- Kazunobu Tanaka, Fellow at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).
- Bai Chunli, Executive VP of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
- Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of the Russian Research Center "Kurchatov Institute”
The debate takes place on September 23rd 2008, and will take place immediately after Nanotech Northern Europe is officially opened by Helge Sander, Denmark’s Minister of Science.
Large-scale public sector investment has stimulated the development of nanotechnology over recent years. Governments invested over $6bn in nanotechnology in 2007, and public-sector investment has only recently been overtaken by private-sector funding.
This marks the first time that such a discussion has been organised, featuring nanotechnology’s current leaders, the USA, EU and Japan, and, in Russia and China, its potential future giants. This debate will address some of the key questions about future public-sector investment in nanotechnology:
- How will public funding of nanotechnology develop over the coming years? What is in place already and where is investment still needed?
- What are the major challenges to the development of nanotechnology, and can global cooperation help to alleviate them?
- What can countries that are increasing their investment learn from the experiences of established nanotechnology leaders?