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Jan. 26, 2004 — Famed German statesman Otto von Bismarck once noted that the two things no one should have to suffer through seeing made are laws and sausages. I couldn’t help but thinking of this quote as the three-year journey to get a nanotechnology bill passed came to an end.
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The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act started in the office of Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2001. Unfortunately, it was swept up in the chaos of responding to Sept. 11 and was shelved. In 2002, Sen. George Allen, Sen. Ron Wyden and House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert picked up the mantle. Along the way it had starts, stops, revisions and every possible delay imaginable. In other words, it passed in textbook fashion.
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Thousands of pieces of legislation are developed each session of Congress. What made S. 189 one of the few to successfully run the gantlet to the president’s desk was its ability to catch the imagination of Washington leaders.
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The bill ultimately promised jobs and economic development, and in the short term delivered research projects to government labs and universities in potentially every Congressional district. That’s a powerful combination to an elected official.
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The signing of the bill by President Bush makes nanotechnology the highest federally funded basic science and technology effort since the space race. Funding that in the past was at the discretion of the president is now mandated.
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The bill authorizes $3.7 billion over the next four years for federal nanotechnology programs and reorganizes government and research communities under a National Nanotechnology Coordination Office.
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What the bill does not do has been seemingly pondered by bloggers, Drexlerians, pseudo-pundits, panderers and other denizens of their mom’s basements more than its revolutionary benefits. They have developed an elaborate fantasy about how molecular manufacturing research work was pulled from the bill by some devious cabal.
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If only it was that exciting. In a nutshell, the bill had many iterations, changes and attempted changes. Even a new nanobio center was floated around. These efforts were shelved in order to create a dynamic bill with a strong framework and an ability to adjust to evolving research and market developments built on top of the strong foundation put in place by the Bush administration and the National Nanotechnology Initiative team.
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Now that this groundbreaking bill has passed, it is important to avoid developing a stagnant “technocracy” and instead nurture an environment for this new industrial revolution to flourish. We need to embrace dynamism — a world that allows for constant creation, discovery and competition. Tech-industry observer Esther Dyson captured the concept well when she noted, “(It is better) to be a gardener than a construction worker in these matters. It is better to go out and water the plants and clear a path for sun to shine, and have them grow themselves.”
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In order to make this happen, we continuously must work with government leaders on creating an entrepreneurial environment for nanotechnology and other emerging technologies. As a public policy platform the nanotechnology industry must:
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- Pursue nanotechnology commercialization centers: The awarding of three to five nanotechnology commercialization centers that focus on getting discoveries from the lab to the market would improve our chances of reaping economic benefits.
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Reform Bayh-Dole: This visionary technology transfer act helped introduce developments into the marketplace, but it needs an overhaul to become more effective.
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Strengthen USPTO: The patent office is drowning in work. Its dedicated staff lacks training and resources. Let the patent office keep its fees and utilize them for more examiners who are better trained to tackle nanotech.
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Revise and expand ATP: Let’s make a long-term commitment to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Advanced Technology Program. We can eradicate the “corporate welfare” and reform this vital program so it continues to commercialize cutting edge technologies.
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Nanotechnology hubs: Give states and regions the resources, information and best practices to develop their economies around nanotech innovations.
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Study nano business: Work with researchers to understand nanotech’s commercialization dynamics, hurdles, work force and education needs.
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Educate the public: It is our duty as a government and an industry to create a dialog with the public to educate them about what is and isn’t nanotech rather than thrusting it on them.
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As President Bush stated to a group of us at the Oval Office, “Today we’re doing something very, very important for our country’s future.”
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The nanotechnology bill will have a greater effect on human development and the growth of the global economy in this century than any legislation passed in the past decade. Let’s continue to work together to ensure that we exceed the big dreams we have for this small technology.