SUMMARY -
June 7-8, 2007 - NANOTECHNOLOGY EVENT
Symposium
on the Social Studies of Nanotechnology
INDUSTRY
DAY
Panels and Dialog
Friday June
8
More
than 175 people attended the
"industry dialog" event on the "Social Studies of
Nanotechnology" co-hosted June 8 by the Mack Center and Chemical Heritage
Foundation (CHF) and held at CHF in Central Philadelphia.
This event
asked, what are
the economic, political and social issues raised by nanotechnologies?
What dialog should business managers engage in to develop, manage and market
the intriguing array of emerging nanotechnologies? This event, organized by Dr. Cyrus C. M. Mody
and
Wharton Prof. Sarah Kaplan, featured panels and
discussions on emerging issues that will help shape the nature of emerging
nanotechnologies.
Sarah
Kaplan moderated the first of three panels that provided the
basis for a dialog on a wide variety of emerging nanotechnology issues.
A
wide variety of insights were presented by speakers and panelists, and a
variety of issues were raised by the audience. It was observed that
Nanotechnology is the only "industry" that defines itself by
scale. More than 500 products currently use nanomaterials.
Safety issues are just beginning to be identified, such as how the human
immune system handles nanoscale particles and materials. It was noted
by several panelists that the public needs to be involved early in the
discussions and debates involving nanotechnologies, to avoid misperceptions
-- and most people still do not have a clear understanding of nanotechnology..
ACADEMIC
DAY
Thursday - June 7
Approximately 60 academic
researchers representing representing economics, science, social studies,
management and other disciplines attended the academic conference on Social
Studies of Nanotechnology, held June 7 at the Wharton
School. The event was organized and hosted by Sarah Kaplan
(Wharton School) and Cyrus Mody (Chemical Heritage Foundation). Prof.
Harbir Singh, Co-Director of the Mack Center, welcomed the group.
Academic
researchers presented working papers on a variety of research topics based
on several themes: Analogies and genealogies of nanotechnology
(looking at microelectronics and biotechnology); Evolution of specific
nanotechnologies (spintronics and carbon nanotubes); Forces shaping
nanotechnology evolution (the state, the publics); and What can the social
sciences bring to nanotechnology and what can nanotechnology bring to the
social sciences?
A
few of the papers presented included: "Molecular Electronics and the
Microelectronics Origins of Nanotechnology" (Hyungsub Choi and Cyrus
C.M. Mody, Center for Contemporary History and Policy, Chemical Heritage
Foundation; "The Nanotech vs. the Biotech Revolution: Sources of
Productivity in Incumbent Firm Research" by Frank Rothaermel and Marie
Thursby, Georgia Tech.; and "Structuring Intellectual Property: The
Case of Carbon Nanotubes" by Michael Lounsbury and P. Devereaux
Jennings, University of Alberta. Senior faculty from several
leading universities provided commentary on the presentations. In
addition, nanotechnology posters were provided by several Ph.D. students
including Augustin Cerveaux, Nina Granqvist, Mary Ingram-Waters and
Byoungyoon Kim. A few pictures from the day's activities are included here:
From
top, left to right: Conf. organizers Sarah Kaplan and Cyrus Mody; Arthur
Daemmrich; Ann Johnson; Susan Lindee; David Mowery; Rebecca Henderson;
Hyungsub Choi; Marie Thursby; Patrick McCray; poster presenters Nina
Granqvitch and Augustin Cerveaux.