2008 Nano Summit

The Future of Nanotechnology: A Legislative Summit

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Date:

Friday, April 25, 2008

Time:

8:00a.m. - 9:00a.m. - Continental Breakfast
9:00a.m. - Noon - Program

Location:

California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI) Auditorium

Sponsors:

Assemblymember Mike Feuer (AD 42 - D), Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), State Government Relations (SGR) and the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI)

Contact:

For more information, contact Suzanne Smith at (310) 825-5455 or ssmith@conet.ucla.edu

Campus Map & Parking Information:

Driving directions to UCLA
Please note that you must go to the parking kiosk on Westwood Blvd. to purchase your parking pass ($8) for either parking lot #6, #8, or #9.

 

 

Additional Information:

There are spaces in the world too small to be seen with even the most powerful optical microscopes. Nanotechnology, sometimes referred to as the science of the very small, has far-reaching economic and quality-of-life implications. How small is small? A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The human hair is approximately 80,000 nanometers wide, for example. A nanometer-sized particle also is smaller than a living cell and can be seen only with the most powerful microscopes available today. Numerous products featuring the unique properties of nanoscale materials – including computer equipment, drug delivery systems and medical diagnostic tools, burn and wound dressings in hospitals, car parts, protective coatings on eyeglasses, cosmetics and clothing – are available to consumers and industry today. And new uses in our homes, offices and on the road are being envisioned and developed. This summit is the first step for stakeholders from industry, government, research institutes and environmental groups to discuss responsible ways to regulate nanotechnology without stifling progress.

Discussion Materials:

Toxic Potential of Materials at the Nanolevel
Andre Nel,Tian Xia, Lutz Ma¨dler, Ning Li

 

Health and Safety Practices in the Nanomaterials Workplace: Results from an International Survey
Joseph A. Conti, Keith Killpack, Gina Gerritzen, Leia Huang, Mariam Ircheva, Magali Delmas, Barbara Herr Harthorn, Richard P. Appelbaum, and Patricia A. Holden

Panelists:

Panel #1

Lenny Rome, Ph.D., Interim Director, California NanoSystems Institute

Andre Nel, Ph.D, M.D., Director of the University of California Lead Campus for Nanotoxicology Research and Training

Hilary Godwin, Ph.D., UCLA School of Public Health

Patrick Soon-Shiong, Chairman & CEO of Abraxis Bio Science, Inc.

 

Panel #2

John Froines, Ph.D., Director, UCLA Center of Occupational and Environmental Health

Tim Malloy, J.D., Professor of Law, UCLA and Co-Director, Frank G.Wells Environmental Law Clinic

Jeffrey Wong, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Department of Toxic Substances Control

George Alexeef, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assesment

Terry O’Day, Executive Director of Environment Now

Panel Summaries:

Panel 1: Environmental and Health Implications of Nanotechnology: Narrowing Our Knowledge Gap

 

The first panel will address the state of the science regarding the potential environmental and human health impacts of nanotechnology and nanomaterials.  Nanomaterials are widely used in a variety of industrial applications and consumer goods such as clothing, sporting goods and cosmetics: the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory maintained by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies identifies more than 500 consumer products containing nanomaterials that are already on the market.  This panel will discuss what is known about potential negative impacts of nanomaterials on the environment and health, and identify the areas in which substantial additional research is required.  The panel will also examine emerging principles and methods in predictive toxicology that could provide a basis for effective regulatory policy aimed at the safe manufacture and use of nanomaterials.

 

Panel 2: Regulating NanoTechnology: Managing Risks while Promoting Progress

 

This panel will build upon the first to explore the policy issues associated with nanotechnology and nanomaterials, including the need for information regarding the environmental and health risks. Panelists will examine the potential application of existing federal and state legal authorities, including EPA’s voluntary Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program, in defining and responding to such risks.  Discussion will cover the integration of emerging methods of predictive toxicology with regulatory policy; the usefulness of potential policy alternatives such as information-based regulation, direct regulation of nanotechnology processes and materials, and market-based programs); and the role of the private sector.