Societal dimensions of nanotechnology - Technology and Society Magazine, IEEE

0278-0079/04/$20.00©2004IEEE | 55 © P H O TO D IS C G R E E N T he United States Congress is currently refining the details of a Nanotechnology Research and Development Act that allocates $2.4 billion in funding over three years for basic investigations of nanotechnology by nonDefense Department federal agencies [1]. This investment is in addition to the $2 billion poured into nanotechnology by these same agencies since 2000 [2]. In contrast to the earlier investments, this new Act specifically calls for a focus on the societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology (SEIN), and, during recent discussions, Congressman Brad Sherman advanced the idea that 5% of the total funding in the 2003 National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) budget should be devoted to study of SEIN. The House Committee on Science voted this down. Still, research into SEIN remains an important part of the NNI; “Scientists and engineers bring to their work a laudable concern for the social value of their labors. However, those working in a particular technical field may be focused on the immediate technical challenges and not see all of the potential social and ethical implications.... The inclusion of social scientists and humanistic scholars, s u c h