Nanotechnology and Society: Emerging Organizations, Oversight and Public Policy Systems

This report summarizes key points of a National Science Foundation supported national workshop, “Nanotechnology & Society: Emerging Organizations, Oversight, and Public Policy Systems,” that was held on September 23-24, 2010 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA). The central lessons drawn from three panels form the body of the report. The first panel focused on constructing policy frameworks for policymaking with presentations by Terry Medley, Global Director of Corporate Regulatory Affairs, DuPont; Timothy Malloy, Professor of Law, University of California Los Angeles; and Jordan Paradise, Associate Professor of Law, Seton Hall University. The second panel, International and Federal Policy Emergence, included Jeff Morris, National Program Director for Nanotechnology, United States Environmental Protection Agency; Charles L. Geraci, Jr., Coordinator, Nanotechnology Research Center, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Treye Thomas, Toxicologist & Chemical Hazards Program Leader, Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, Consumer Product Safety Commission; and Mark Touminen, Professor of Physics and co-Director of the Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The third panel, NGO Perspectives on Emerging Nanotechnology Oversight and Regulation, included Rick Reibstein, Environmental Analyst and Policy and Outreach Manager, Office of Technology Assistance, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; Richard Sclove, Founder and Senior Fellow, The Loka Institute; and J. Clarence Davies, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future