Jan. 24, 2006 – An international foundation released a survey report today that contains nanotechnology governance information and recommendations for improving risk governance.

The International Risk Governance Council’s (IRGC) report, “Survey on Nanotechnology Governance, Volume A: The Role of Government,” includes nanotechnology governance information for 11 economies and related nanotechnology R&D data from a total of 27 economies, according to a news release.

The survey was conducted as part of a current IRGC nanotechnology project intended to address the need for adequate risk governance approaches at the national and international levels in the development of nanotechnology and nanoscale products. The project is funded by the Swiss Federal Agency for Development and Cooperation, the U.S. Department of State and the Swiss Reinsurance Company.

The survey report was written by Mike Roco, senior adviser to the U.S. National Science Foundation, and Emily Litten, nanotechnology project manager at IRGC. It includes each survey response as well as summaries, and identifies more than 45 recommendations for how risk governance of nanotechnology may be improved in areas such as stakeholder engagement, communication and research.

The recommendations will be used as input to the project’s next step: a workshop at the end of January at which international experts will develop an integrated set of recommendations for consideration at a conference in Switzerland in the summer.

– David Forman

Jan. 24, 2006 – Advance Nanotech Inc. (OTC.BB: AVNA), a provider of financing and support services for nanotechnology companies and research, announced that it appointed Lowell Dashefsky as general counsel. Dashefsky will be responsible for directing all legal activities for Advance Nanotech and its subsidiaries and will report directly to CEO Magnus Gittins.

For the past five years Dashefsky has been an associate at Shearman & Sterling in New York where he was a member of the intellectual property transactions group. He represented clients in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products, financial services and information technology. Prior to his employment at Shearman & Sterling, Dashefsky was an associate at Fish & Neave where he practiced patent and trademark litigation.

Jan. 23, 2006 — Velocys announced it will receive additional funding to continue its project with the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Automotive Center on a synthetic fuel process.

The program is valued at $1 million and will be conducted during the 2006 fiscal year. Velocys will apply its microchannel process technology to key components of the synthetic fuel production process. The company said synthetic fuel production units utilizing Velocys technology reactors could enable the production of vehicle ready fuel to be made in the field from indigenous natural gas.

Jan. 20, 2006 — Nanostellar Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif., developer of application-specific nanomaterials and nano-alloy based automotive catalyst solutions, announced the appointment of Pankaj Dhingra as president and chief executive officer.

Prior to joining Nanostellar, Pankaj served as president of Ener1 Inc.’s energy division, an alternative energy technologies company. His experience spans finance, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing with Delphi, General Motors and Unisys, according to Nanostellar. During his tenure at Delphi, he managed the company’s automotive battery business.

Jan. 19, 2006 — STMicroelectronics and Veredus Laboratories announced that they are developing a fast, point-of-need diagnostic capability that will enable health practitioners to quickly detect strains of Avian Flu and other influenza viruses. The companies said the diagnostics would use reliable and inexpensive equipment and produce results within approximately one hour of testing.

Using STMicroelectronics’ In-Check lab-on-a-chip platform, Veredus is developing an application to specifically identify whether a patient is infected with the Avian Flu (H5N1) or a subtype of Influenza A or B in a single test, instead of requiring many tests. To be available in time for the next flu season, the companies said the single-test application would be a substantial breakthrough in enabling rapid identification of the infectious agent to limit the spread of the disease and speed patients’ treatment.

Jan. 19, 2006 — Industrial Nanotech Inc., a company that specializes in nanotechnology product development, announced that it has received a 300 gallon order for its Nansulate coatings, including Nansulate HomeProtect, the company’s newest product that is intended to provide energy savings and mold protection for residential and commercial buildings.

The products were purchased by a U.K. affiliate of Kologen, Ltd., Industrial Nanotech’s distributor based in Istanbul, Turkey. The company said the order is the second significant order facilitated by Kologen. Previously, Industrial Nanotech reported an 800 gallon order of Nansulate Translucent from Kologen Ltd.

Jan. 19, 2006 – Advance Nanotech Inc. (OTC.BB: AVNA), a provider of financing and support services for nanotechnology, announced the appointment of Claudio Marinelli as entrepreneur in residence at the Center for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) at the University of Cambridge.

Marinelli will be responsible for managing Advance Nanotech’s programs at CAPE, its associated investments in Cambridge, and will report to Peter Gammel, Advance Nanotech’s senior vice president of electronics.