August 20, 2009: Nanotech efforts in the US have spiked 50% in just the past two years, and the “map” of work is decidedly concentrated in a few locations, according to an analysis and graphic representation just released by the Project on Emerging Technologies (PEN).
Over 1200 companies, universities, government labs, and other organizations are involved in nanotech, from research and development to commercialization, up from 800 two years ago. “There is now not a single state without organizations involved in this cutting-edge field,” notes PEN director David Rejeski, in a statement.
Top four states are familiar: California, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas; Ohio has moved up four spots to six place, and NC is now among the top 10. At a more local level, top “Nano Metro” clusters include the greater Boston area (including neighboring Middlesex/Essex counties), California’s Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose), and North Carolina’s “Triangle” region, specifically Raleigh. Top 3 sectors for companies working in nanotech (>200 entries) include materials, tools and instruments, and medicine/health. 182 universities and government labs are identified as working in nanotech, PEN says.
PEN’s Google Maps-powered layout of US nanotech efforts, built using Google Maps, brings the prominence of these regions into better clarity; it also is interactive, allowing drilldown into individual regions.
With surging growth in nanotech-based goods from $147B in 2007 to $3.1T in 2015 (citing Lux Research estimates), Rejeski calls this nano-map “a work in progress.”
