USC’s Societal Implications Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT), which includes faculty members from liberal arts and the sciences, will hold its second international conference, “Discovering the Nanoscale,” at Technische Universität in Darmstadt, Germany, Oct. 10–12. The first such conference was held at USC in March.

“USC is one of a very few universities with a critical mass of nanoscience research and an interdisciplinary research group working purposefully on the societal implications of nanoscience,” said Davis Baird, chair of USC’s philosophy department and a principal investigator on this NSF grant.

In the past year, USC held nine “NanoCulture” colloquia on the societal implications of nanotechnology, launched an international “nanotalk” listserv, and held a workshop entitled “Reading Nanoscience.” During the next four years, NIRT plans to expand those efforts to generate more interaction and information exchange. The new grant also will support a program for as many as 12 undergraduate students to engage in faculty-directed research projects aimed at exploring the broad implications of nanotechnology. In addition, several new academic courses are planned that will examine, among other topics, the intersection of nanoscience, medicine, and biology.

“Our goal is to cultivate an informed understanding of nanoscience on this campus, in the larger academic community, and among the general public,” Baird said. “We want to avoid the extremes of nano visionaries, who talk about grandiose ideas as if they were reality, and nano skeptics, who perceive a sinister purpose behind every topic.”

Nanoscale technology, which attempts to manipulate matter at the atomic (10-9 meters) scale, is heavily funded by federal research agencies and is considered portentous for new developments in medicine and industry. Because of the ethical, legal, and social implications of nanoscience, the federal government has earmarked substantial funds for initiatives such as USC’s NIRT.

“If you think about how genetically modified foods are now perceived in Europe or how nuclear power was embraced, then rejected, it’s clear that science can get ahead of public understanding,” Baird said. “Scientists were clearly unprepared for the ‘Frankenfood’ backlash that happened in Europe. We’re trying to avoid a similar outcome for nanotechnology while at the same time discussing valid concerns about this new field of science.”

Nanotechnology already is turning up in consumer goods, including:
• nanoparticles embedded in the bladder of tennis balls, which keeps balls pressurized for twice as long
• nanofibers woven into the surface of fabric to resist stains
• nano-sized zinc oxide particles in sunscreen that are transparent—but still effective in blocking the sun—on human skin.

USC researchers are researching carbon nanotubes that, for their size, are stronger and lighter than steel; nanoelectronics that might one day spawn molecular switches and other lilliputian computing devices; and nanoscale composite materials that could dramatically improve the sealing quality of plastic bottles.

“These kinds of innovations represent the more practical aspects of nanoscience and few would really argue about them,” Baird said. “But even these prosaic nano products raise environmental, toxicity, regulatory, and political concerns that need careful attention. And there are some people out there—the nano visionaries—who talk about nanotechnology one day eliminating the aging process or creating massive centralized sources of electricity for the nation.

“Those ideas have lots of social implications and show how nanoscience has the potential to radically transform society. That’s why we need to get everyone together to talk.”

06/03