Sep 27 2008
A distinguished panel of nanotechnology experts will address the topics of nano-safety when they gather at the nanotxUSA Conference/Expo, October 2-3, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas convention hotel. The issue of safety in nanotechnology is being reported in a number of tightly focused areas. Specific applications or research directions will be evaluated with the concerns for their special niche. "The question that everyone is interested in is 'what are the potential problems that may arise,' and how can society be protected?," said Dr. Walt Trybula, of Texas State University-San Marcos, who organized and will chair the panel. "This is a two hour session. The panelists will provide their perspective from the view of the European community, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Industry."
This extremely important topic is of interest to technologists, corporate executives, educators, and the general public. It will be open to all attendees of the conference.
The panelists will provide their vision of the risks, means of mitigating them, and the responsibilities implicit in working in nanotechnology. These presentations will be followed by one addressing Risk Management. This will then be followed by a question and answer session. There is a one hour networking session scheduled following the end of the panel, so discussions can continue after the official end of the program.
“The ‘take-away’ from this session is to develop an understanding of the potential risks,” said Trybula, “and to provide the means of mitigating them, finding efforts that can be taken to protect people and the environment, and a starting point of where to go to find assistance.”
The panelists include a roster of the best brains on the subject: Dr. Dianne Poster – NIST [leadership in nanotechnology]; Dr. Zvi Yaniv – Applied Nanotech, Inc. [implementation of a safety program in industry]; Catherine Crago – SemiconGroup [cultural issues with safety efforts]; Dr. Dominick Fazarro – Sam Houston State University [Educational efforts in NANO-SAFETY]; Dr. Robert Blaunstein – Nanotech Risk Management, LLC [risk management]; Chair Dr. Walt Trybula, is an IEEE Fellow, SPIE Fellow, and Director of the Nanomaterials Application Center at Texas State University-San Marcos.
“The issue of the impact from nanotechnology on people and the environment has been receiving increasing coverage in the press,” said Richard Mason, General Manager of nanotxUSA’08, “with the expansion of nanotechnology into our society we are constantly getting questioned about the safety of applying technology and that is why nanoxUSA has brought together these experts. The schedule is available at our website, www.nanotxUSA.com”