The National 

Nanotechnology Initiative

Research and Development Leading to a 

Revolution in Technology and Industry

Supplement to the President’s FY 2011 Budget
About the National Science and Technology Council 

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) was established by Executive Order on November 23, 1993. The Cabinetlevel council is the principal means by which the President coordinates science, space, and technology policies across the Federal 

Government. NSTC coordinates the diverse parts of the Federal research and development enterprise. An important objective of the 

NSTC is the establishment of clear national goals for Federal science and technology investments in areas ranging from 

nanotechnology and health research to improving transportation systems and strengthening fundamental research. The Council 

prepares research and development strategies that are coordinated across Federal agencies to form a comprehensive investment 

package aimed at accomplishing multiple national goals. To obtain additional information regarding the NSTC, visit the NSTC 

website at http://www.ostp.gov/cs/nstc.

About the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was established by the National Science and Technology Policy, 

Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976. OSTP’s responsibilities include advising the President in policy formulation and budget 

development on all questions in which science and technology (S&T) are important elements; articulating the President’s S&T 

policies and programs; and fostering strong partnerships among Federal, state, and local governments, and the scientific communities 

in industry and academia. The Director of OSTP also serves as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and manages

the NSTC for the President. For additional information regarding OSTP, visit the OSTP website at http://www.ostp.gov/. 

About this document 

This document is a supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget Request submitted to Congress on February 1, 2010. It gives a 

description of the activities underway in 2010 and planned for 2011 by the Federal Government agencies participating in the 

National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), primarily from a programmatic and budgetary perspective. It is based on the NNI 

Strategic Plan released in December 2007 and reports estimated investments for 2010 and requested investments for 2011 by 

program component area (PCA), as called for under the provisions of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development 

Act (Public Law 108-153). Additional information regarding the NNI is available on the NNI website at http://www.nano.gov/. 

About the cover 

Central image: A dark field optical microscope image of breast cancer cells with gold nanopyramids attached to the cell surfaces by 

antibodies on the nanopyramids. Because of the targeting provided by the antibodies, the gold nanoparticles can be used as both

localized therapeutic agents and diagnostic probes. The pyramids are about 200 nanometers at their base and taper to about 1 

nanometer at their tips. In the image shown, the gold nanopyramids appear as bright orange spots. The cells are about 10 

micrometers in diameter. The nanoparticles can behave as high contrast probes to identify cancer cells and to visualize the location of 

biomarkers. When illuminated with near-infrared light, the nanopyramids generate heat that can be used to locally destroy cancer 

cells without harming the surrounding healthy cells. The ultra-sharp tip and edges of the nanopyramids produce highly concentrated 

electromagnetic fields that can further enhance their heating abilities (work funded by NIH NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in 

Cancer and NIH Director’s Pioneer Award; courtesy of Teri W. Odom, Northwestern University, 

http://chemgroups.northwestern.edu/odom/ and Thomas V. O’Halloran, Northwestern University, 

http://chemgroups.northwestern.edu/ohalloran/). 

Background image: False-color scanning electron microscopy image of the gold nanopyramids situated on silicon pedestals as they

are formed using high-resolution lithography; the spacing of the pedestals is about two micrometers. This image demonstrates how 

anisotropic particles made by nanofabrication methods are highly uniform in size and can be three-dimensional in shape. The 

method also enables selective functionalization of the nanoparticle surfaces (work funded by NSF; courtesy of Teri W. Odom). 

Cover and book design 

Cover design is by N. R. Sayo-Art LLC. Book design is by staff members of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office 

(NNCO). 

Copyright information 

This document is a work of the U.S. Government and is in the public domain (see 17 USC §105). Subject to stipulations below, it

may be distributed and copied, with acknowledgement to the NNCO. Copyrights to graphics included in this document are 

reserved by original copyright holders or their assignees and are used here under the Government’s license and by permission. 

Requests to use any images must be made to the provider identified in the image credits, or to the NNCO if no provider is 

identified. 

Printed in the United States of America. 2010. 
The National Nanotechnology Initiative

Research and Development Leading to a Revolution

in Technology and Industry

 

Supplement to the

President’s 2011 Budget

February 2010 

Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology 

Committee on Technology

National Science and Technology Council
Department and Agency Representatives

Office of Science and Technology 

Policy (OSTP)

Travis M. Earles

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB)

Irene B. Kariampuzha

Bureau of Industry and Security 

(BIS/DOC)

Kelly Gardner

Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (CPSC)

Mary Ann Danello

Treye A. Thomas

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture (NIFA/USDA) 

Hongda Chen

Department of Defense (DOD) 

Lewis Sloter

Mihal E. Gross

Gernot S. Pomrenke

Eric Snow

David M. Stepp

Department of Education (DOEd)

Krishan Mathur

Department of Energy (DOE)

Patricia M. Dehmer

Altaf H. Carim

Chien-Wei Li

John C. Miller

Andrew R. Schwartz

Brian G. Valentine

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS)

Richard T. Lareau

Eric J. Houser

Department of Justice (DOJ)

Joseph Heaps

Department of Labor (DOL)

Brad Wiggins

Department of State (DOS)

Ken Hodgkins

Chris Cannizzaro

Department of Transportation 

(DOT)

Kelly Leone

Jonathan R. Porter

Department of the Treasury 

(DOTreas)

John F. Bobalek

Director of National Intelligence 

(DNI)

Richard Ridgley 

Susan E. Durham

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA)

Jeff Morris

Nora F. Savage

Philip G. Sayre

Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA/DHHS) 

Jesse Goodman

Carlos Peña

Forest Service (FS/USDA) 

Christopher D. Risbrudt

Theodore H. Wegner

International Trade Commission 

(ITC)

Elizabeth R. Nesbitt

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) 

Minoo N. Dastoor

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health 

(NIOSH/CDC/DHHS)

Charles L. Geraci 

Vladimir V. Murashov

National Institutes of Health 

(NIH/DHHS)

Piotr Grodzinski

Lori Henderson

Jeffery A. Schloss

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST/DOC)

Lloyd J. Whitman

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Mihail C. Roco 

Zakya H. Kafafi

Parag R. Chitnis

T. James Rudd

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC)

Richard P. Croteau

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Sarah Gerould

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

(USPTO/DOC)

Charles Eloshway

Bruce Kisliuk

Report prepared by

NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY (CT)

SUBCOMMITTEE ON NANOSCALE SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY (NSET)

CT Co-Chairs: Aneesh Chopra, Office of Science and Technology Policy

Vivek Kundra, Office of Management and Budget

CT Executive Secretary: Jason E. Boehm, National Institute of Standards and Technology

NSET Subcommittee Agency Co-Chair: National Nanotechnology Coordination Office Director: 

Sally S. Tinkle E. Clayton Teague 

NSET Subcommittee OSTP Co-Chair: NSET Subcommittee Executive Secretary: 

Travis M. Earles Geoffrey M. Holdridge
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

Washington, D.C. 20502

February 10, 2010 

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: 

I am pleased to forward with this letter the annual report on the multi-agency National 

Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). This Supplement to the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 

2011 briefly describes the programs and coordinated activities taking place across all 25 of the 

agencies that are participating today in the NNI. Nanotechnology research and development 

(R&D) is inherently multidisciplinary and the rate of progress depends on the strong interagency 

communication, coordination, and collaboration via the National Science and Technology 

Council to leverage expertise throughout the Federal Government. 

The proposed NNI budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 of $1.76 billion will bring the cumulative 

investment since the inception of the NNI in FY 2001 to nearly $14 billion. This increased 

investment serves to advance our understanding of nanoscale phenomena and our ability to 

engineer nanoscale devices and systems that address national priorities and global challenges in 

such areas as energy conversion and storage, and medicine. At the same time, the NNI 

investment continues supporting the fundamental, groundbreaking R&D that is the wellspring of 

U.S. innovation. 

Along with its investment in the development and application of nanotechnology, the NNI 

continues to expand its activities to assess and address the potential health and environmental 

implications as well as societal and ethical concerns associated with these emerging 

technologies. The record budget request for direct nanotechnology-related EHS research is 

consistent with the NNI strategy and represents the agency-level commitment towards 

implementation, filling gaps and strengthening the fundamental knowledge base for risk-benefit 

assessment. 

The NNI has been widely recognized as a leading model of interagency coordination and 

collaboration. Nevertheless, the signature initiatives described in the supplement represent the 

agency efforts to drive more intensive and functional programmatic collaboration where such 

engagement is essential to meet specific targets in nanotechnology for solar energy, electronics, 

and sustainable nanomanufacturing. 

Nanotechnology R&D constitutes a core building block of innovation that will ultimately 

accelerate job creation and transform many sectors of our economy through commercialization. 

The NNI reflects a longstanding commitment to broad-based support of closely-integrated 

applications and implications research to enable nanotechnology innovation in the United States 

that continues to set the pace for the rest of the world. 

Sincerely, 

John P. Holdren 

Director 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... 1

1. Introduction and Overview .................................................................................................................. 3

Overview of the National Nanotechnology Initiative .......................................................................... 3

What is Nanotechnology? .................................................................................................................... 3

Purpose of this Report ......................................................................................................................... 4

2. NNI Investments .................................................................................................................................. 7

Budget Summary ................................................................................................................................. 7

Changes in Balance of Investments by Program Component Area (PCA) ........................................ 11

Utilization of SBIR and STTR Programs to Advance Nanotechnology ............................................ 14

3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D ....................................................................................... 17

Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 17

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ................................................................................ 17

Department of Defense (DOD) .......................................................................................................... 17

Department of Energy (DOE) ............................................................................................................ 18

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ......................................................................................... 19

Department of Justice/National Institute of Justice (DOJ/NIJ) ......................................................... 19

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) ............................................................................................ 19

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) .......................................................................................... 20

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) .............................................................................................. 21

National Institutes of Health (NIH) ................................................................................................... 21

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ...................................................... 22

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ................................................................... 23

National Science Foundation (NSF) .................................................................................................. 23

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA/FS) ............................................................ 24

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA) .......... 25

4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities .................................................................... 27

NNI Contributions to Administration Goals for the Nation .............................................................. 27

Activities Relating to the Four NNI Goals ........................................................................................ 27

External Reviews of the NNI ............................................................................................................. 44

Appendix A. Glossary ........................................................................................................................... 57

Appendix B. Contact List ...................................................................................................................... 60
2 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget
The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 3

1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Overview of the National Nanotechnology Initiative

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a U.S. Government research and development (R&D) 

program of twenty-five agencies working together toward the common challenging vision of “a future in 

which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a revolution in technology and 

industry that benefits society." The combined, coordinated efforts of these agencies have accelerated 

discovery, development, and deployment of nanotechnology towards agency missions and the broader 

national interest. Established in 2001,1 the NNI involves nanotechnology-related activities by the 25 

agencies shown in Table 1, 15 of which have budgets for nanotechnology R&D for 2011. 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative is managed within the framework of the National Science and 

Technology Council (NSTC), the Cabinet-level council by which the President coordinates science and 

technology policy across the Federal Government. The Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology 

(NSET) Subcommittee of the NSTC coordinates planning, budgeting, program implementation, and 

review of the initiative. The NSET Subcommittee is composed of representatives from agencies 

participating in the NNI. A listing of official NSET Subcommittee members is provided at the front of 

this report. Contact information for NSET Subcommittee participants is provided in Appendix B. The

National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) acts as the primary point of contact for 

information on the NNI; provides technical and administrative support to the NSET Subcommittee; 

supports the subcommittee in the preparation of multiagency planning, budget, and assessment 

documents, including this report; develops, updates, and maintains the NNI website 

(http://www.nano.gov); and provides public outreach on behalf of the NNI. 

The NSET Subcommittee has established four working groups: (1) the Global Issues in Nanotechnology 

(GIN) Working Group, (2) the Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) 

Working Group, (3) the Nanomanufacturing, Industry Liaison, and Innovation (NILI) Working Group, 

and (4) the Nanotechnology Public Engagement and Communication (NPEC) Working Group.

The December 2007 NNI Strategic Plan2 sets out the vision for the NNI stated above. The plan specifies 

four goals aimed at achieving that overall vision: (1) advance a world-class nanotechnology research and 

development program; (2) foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public 

 

1 General note: In conformance with Office of Management and Budget style, references to years in this report are to fiscal years 

unless otherwise noted.

2 http://www.nano.gov/NNI_Strategic_Plan_2007.pdf. Note that this plan will be updated in 2010.

What is Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 

nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Encompassing nanoscale science, 

engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter 

at this length scale.

A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick; a single gold 

atom is about a third of a nanometer in diameter. Dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers 

are known as the nanoscale. Unusual physical, chemical, and biological properties can emerge in materials at 

the nanoscale. These properties may differ in important ways from the properties of bulk materials and single 

atoms or molecules.
1. Introduction and Overview

4 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

benefit; (3) develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the supporting 

infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology; and (4) support responsible development of 

nanotechnology. The plan also lays out eight NNI investment categories (or program component areas, 

PCAs), each aimed at helping to achieve one or more of the above goals:

1. Fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes

2. Nanomaterials

3. Nanoscale devices and systems

4. Instrumentation research, metrology, and standards for nanotechnology

5. Nanomanufacturing

6. Major research facilities and instrumentation acquisition

7. Environment, health, and safety

8. Education and societal dimensions

Federal agencies are investing in R&D within the above categories in support of national goals and agency 

missions. NNI funding represents the sum of the nanotechnology-related funding allocated by each of the 

participating agencies. Each agency separately determines its budgets for nanotechnology R&D, in 

coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 

and Congress. Thus, the NNI is an interagency budget crosscut in which participating agencies work 

closely with each other to create an integrated program through communication, coordination, and 

collaboration. Enhanced communications through committee and working groups has led to joint 

coordination and collaboration in a variety of forms, including sharing of knowledge and expertise; joint 

sponsorship of solicitations and workshops; and leveraging funding, staff, and facility/equipment resources 

at NNI participating agencies. Examples of focused R&D collaboration across agencies include the 

Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives summarized in the sidebar on page 6.

Purpose of this Report

This document provides supplemental information to the President’s 2011 Budget and serves as the 

Annual Report on the NNI called for in the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act 

(P.L. 108-153, 15 USC 7501). In particular, the report summarizes NNI programmatic activities for 2009 

and 2010, as well as those planned for in 2011. This report also meets the requirements for the 

Department of Defense of 10 USC 2358 “Research and Development Projects” as amended by the 

National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (H.R. 2647). NNI budgets for 2009–2011 are presented by 

agency and PCA in Section 2 of this report. Information on the use of the Small Business Innovation

Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program funds to support 

nanotechnology research and commercialization activities, also called for in P.L. 108-153, is included at 

the end of Section 2. Section 3 summarizes the perspectives of the NNI agencies regarding their 

nanotechnology investments. Section 4 highlights activities that have been undertaken and progress that 

has been made toward achieving the goals set out in the NNI Strategic Plan and discusses external reviews 

of the NNI and how their recommendations are being addressed. 
1. Introduction and Overview

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 5

Table 1

List of Federal Agencies Participating in the NNI During 2010

Federal agencies with budgets dedicated to nanotechnology research and development

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 

Department of Defense (DOD)

Department of Energy (DOE)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Department of Justice (DOJ)

Department of Transportation (DOT, including the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA) 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Department of Health and Human Services)

Forest Service (FS, Department of Agriculture)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, Department of Health and Human 

Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA, Department of Agriculture)3

National Institutes of Health (NIH, Department of Health and Human Services) 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, Department of Commerce)

National Science Foundation (NSF) 

Other participating agencies

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS, Department of Commerce)

Department of Education (DOEd)

Department of Labor (DOL)

Department of State (DOS)

Department of the Treasury (DOTreas)

Director of National Intelligence (DNI)

International Trade Commission (ITC)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS, Department of the Interior)

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO, Department of Commerce)

 

3 Section 7511 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) established within the Department of Agriculture the 

National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and transferred all authorities of the Cooperative State Research, Education, 

and Extension Service (CSREES) to NIFA not later than October 1, 2009.
1. Introduction and Overview

6 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives 

To accelerate nanotechnology development in support of the President's priorities and innovation strategy, NNI member 

agencies have identified areas ripe for significant advances through close and targeted program-level interagency 

collaboration. The resulting Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives for 2011 are summarized as follows (details are available 

at http://www.nano.gov/html/research/signature_initiatives.html): 

Nanotechnology Applications for Solar Energy (DOE, NIST, NSF, DOD, DNI, USDA/NIFA – $51 million total)*

The President’s Agenda calls for the development of carbon-neutral alternative energy sources to mitigate global climate 

change, reduce dependence on foreign oil, improve the economy, and improve the environment. The specific targets 

specified by the President’s Agenda state that 10 percent of electricity generated should be derived from renewable 

sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025. 

Solar energy is a promising alternative energy source that can address these challenges. It is readily available, free from 

geopolitical tension and not a threat to the environment through pollution or to the climate through greenhouse gas 

emission. The development of a solar energy infrastructure will not only support U.S. energy independence, but also 

represents an unparalleled economic opportunity if the U.S. can maintain scientific and industrial leadership in this field.

Today, the current rate of improvement of solar technology performance is inadequate to meet future energy needs, and 

the cost is often not economically competitive without subsidies. Therefore, new innovations and fundamental 

breakthroughs are needed to accelerate the development of economical solar energy technologies that overcome the 

limits of existing technologies. 

Nanotechnology provides a key to overcoming current performance barriers and substantially improving the collection and 

conversion of solar energy. At the nanoscale, a number of physical phenomena have been identified that can improve the 

collection and conversion of solar energy. Nanoparticles and nanostructures have been shown to enhance the absorption 

of light, increase the conversion of light to electricity, and provide better thermal storage and transport. However, current

demonstrations of these technologies fall short of potential performance because of poor control over feature size and 

placement, unpredictable micro/nanostructure, and poor interface formation. The goal of this initiative is to exploit the 

benefits of nanotechnology by enhancing understanding of conversion and storage phenomena at the nanoscale, 

improving nanoscale characterization of electronic properties, and helping enable economical nanomanufacturing.

Sustainable Nanomanufacturing (NIST, NSF, DOE, EPA, NIH – $23 million total)*

A long-term vision for nanomanufacturing is to create flexible, “bottom-up” batch assembly methods that can be used to 

assemble elaborate systems of complex nanodevices. To create the foundation for achieving this vision, over the next 

decade the goal of this initiative is to accelerate the development of industrial-scale methods for manufacturing of 

functional systems with relatively limited complexity based on manufactured nanoparticles with designed properties. The 

organized assemblies of nanoparticles manufactured will be designed to control and manipulate information, thermal 

energy, and electromagnetic radiation. The systems to be manufactured, based on these methods, will include disruptive 

technologies for high-speed communication and computation, solar energy harvesting, waste heat management and 

recovery, and energy storage. If the initiative is successful, the methods developed will be immediately extendable to more 

complex components and systems as future nanodevices mature.

Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond (NSF, DOD, NIST, DOE, DNI – $55 million total)*

Continuing to shrink the dimensions of electronic devices is important in order to further increase processing speed, reduce 

device switching energy, increase system functionality, and reduce manufacturing cost per bit. But as the dimensions of 

critical elements of devices approach atomic size, quantum tunneling and other quantum effects degrade and ultimately 

prohibit conventional device operation. Researchers are therefore pursuing somewhat radical approaches to overcome 

these fundamental physics limitations. Candidate approaches include different types of logic using cellular automata or 

quantum entanglement and superposition; 3-D spatial architectures; and information-carrying variables other than 

electron charge, such as photon polarization, electron spin, and position and states of atoms and molecules. Approaches 

based on nanoscale science, engineering, and technology are the most promising for realizing these radical changes and 

are expected to change the very nature of electronics and the essence of how electronic devices are manufactured. Rapidly 

reinforcing domestic R&D successes in these arenas could establish a U.S. domestic manufacturing base that will dominate 

21st-century electronics commerce. The goal of this initiative is to accelerate the discovery and use of novel nanoscale 

fabrication processes and innovative concepts to produce revolutionary materials, devices, systems, and architectures to 

advance the field of nanoelectronics. 

These Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives represent the leading edge of functional interagency collaboration in the 

budget and program planning process under the NNI, with multiple agencies working in common toward specific 

objectives.

* Funding commitments by participating agencies at the time this supplement was completed are listed above. Updated/new 

commitments will be provided at http://www.nano.gov/html/research/signature_initiatives.html. 
The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 7

2.NNI INVESTMENTS

Budget Summary

The 2011 Budget provides nearly $1.8 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), 

reflecting continued steady growth in the NNI investment. This sustained major investment in 

nanotechnology research and development (R&D) across the Federal Government over the past eleven

years of the NNI, spanning three Presidential Administrations and five Congresses, is an indication of the 

broad support for this program. This support is based on nanotechnology’s potential to vastly improve our 

fundamental understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale, ultimately leading to a revolution in 

technology and industry for the benefit of society. While the NNI remains focused on fulfilling the 

Federal role of supporting basic research, infrastructure development, and technology transfer, the 

proposed investments for 2011 place renewed emphasis on accelerating the transition from basic R&D 

advances and capabilities into innovations that support national priorities such as sustainable energy 

technologies, healthcare, and environmental protection. This is consistent with substantial increases in the 

requested nanotechnology investments for 2011 at the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of 

Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The NNI is also increasing its investments aimed at 

implementing the Government’s strategy for nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety 

(EHS) research.4 As a part of this expanded EHS effort, the Food and Drug Administration and the 

Consumer Product Safety Commission are participating in the formal NNI budget crosscut for the first 

time in 2011. Increasing investments in nanotechnology R&D by other NNI participating agencies reflect 

the potential for this research to support diverse agency missions and responsibilities. The cumulative NNI 

investment since 2001, including the 2011 request, now totals over $14 billion. This includes $511 

million in funding authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). 

Cumulative investments in EHS research since 2005 now total over $480 million. Cumulative 

investments in education and in research on ethical, legal, and other societal dimensions of 

nanotechnology since 2005 total over $260 million.

The 2011 NNI budget supports nanoscale science, engineering, and technology R&D at 15 agencies. 

Agencies with the largest investments are: 

• DOE (research providing a basis for new and improved energy technologies)

• NSF (fundamental research across all disciplines of science and engineering) 

• NIH (nanotechnology-based biomedical research at the intersection of life sciences and the physical 

sciences) 

• DOD (science and engineering research advancing defense and dual-use capabilities) 

• NIST (fundamental research and development of measurement and fabrication tools, analytical 

methodologies, and metrology for nanotechnology) 

Other agencies investing in mission-related research are EPA, NIOSH, NASA, FDA, DHS, USDA 

(including both NIFA and FS), CPSC, DOT (including FHWA), and DOJ. 

Table 2 shows NNI investments in 2009–2011 for Federal agencies with budgets and investments for 

nanotechnology R&D. Tables 3–6 list the investments for 2009–2011 by agency and by program 

component area (PCA). 

 

4 Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research (February 2008): 

http://www.nano.gov/NNI_EHS_Research_Strategy.pdf. NNI EHS research is defined as research whose primary purpose is to 

understand and address potential risks to health and the environment that engineered nanomaterials may pose.
2. NNI Investments

8 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Table 2: NNI Budget, by Agency, 2009–2011 

(dollars in millions)

Agency 2009 Actual 2009 Recovery* 2010 Estimated 2011 Proposed

DOE** 332.6 293.2 372.9 423.9

NSF 408.6 101.2 417.7 401.3

HHS/NIH 342.8 73.4 360.6 382.4

DOD*** 459.0 0.0 436.4 348.5

DOC/NIST 93.4 43.4 114.4 108.0

EPA 11.6 0.0 17.7 20.0

HHS/NIOSH 6.7 0.0 9.5 16.5

NASA 13.7 0.0 13.7 15.8

HHS/FDA 6.5 0.0 7.3 15.0

DHS 9.1 0.0 11.7 11.7

USDA/NIFA 9.9 0.0 10.4 8.9

USDA/FS 5.4 0.0 5.4 5.4

CPSC 0.2 0.0 0.2 2.2

DOT/FHWA 0.9 0.0 3.2 2.0

DOJ 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

TOTAL**** 1,701.5 511.3 1,781.1 1,761.6

* Based on allocations of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) appropriations. Agencies may 

report additional ARRA funding for SBIR and STTR projects later, when 2009 SBIR/STTR data become available.

** Funding levels for DOE include the Office of Science, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office 

of Fossil Energy, the Office of Nuclear Energy, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy. 

*** In Tables 2–4, the 2009 and 2010 DOD figures include Congressionally directed funding that is outside the NNI plan 

($117 million for 2009).

**** For Tables 2–7, totals may not add, due to rounding.

Key points about the 2010 and 2011 NNI investments

• Beyond the $1.7 billion in total NNI investments reported under the respective 2009 agency 

appropriations, an additional $511 million was provided for nanotechnology research and 

infrastructure investments in 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 

2009. This substantial ARRA enhancement to the NNI in 2009 included investments across all of the 

NNI PCAs, with particular emphasis on PCA 2 (nanomaterials, where DOE alone increased its 

investment by $138 million) and on PCA 6 (major research facilities & instrumentation acquisition), 

where NIST, DOE, and NSF allocated over $72 million to upgrade equipment and facilities at NNI 

user facilities and research centers.

• Research on fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes (PCA 1) remains the largest program 

component area, with $484 million requested for 2011. Combined with PCA 2 (nanomaterials, $342 

million in the 2011 request), this basic research component of the NNI portfolio represents just under 

half of the total NNI funding request, reflecting the continued importance of sustained Federal 

funding for fundamental research, feeding the innovation pipeline. 

• The Department of Energy now has the largest nanotechnology investment among the NNI agencies, 

requesting a total of $424 million for 2011. The increase in 2011 over 2010 is due in part to new 

investments at the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA–E), as well as increased 

funding at the Office of Science and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
2. NNI Investments

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 9

Table 3: Actual 2009 Agency Investments by Program Component Area 

(dollars in millions)

1. Fundamental

Phenomena & 

Processes

2. Nanomaterials

3. Nanoscale 

Devices

& Systems

4. Instrument 

Research, 

Metrology, & 

Standards

5. Nanomanufacturing

6. Major Research 

Facilities & Instr. 

Acquisition 

7. Environment, 

Health, and Safety

8. Education & 

Societal 

Dimensions

NNI Total

DOE 99.8 92.8 7.9 21.1 6.9 100.5 3.1 0.5 332.6

NSF 143.6 72.4 54.0 21.4 27.7 31.5 26.8 31.3 408.6

HHS/NIH 46.7 73.9 172.4 17.5 2.2 13.6 12.0 4.5 342.8

DOD 162.8 67.5 166.9 9.0 29.0 19.7 4.1 0.0 459.0

DOC/NIST 23.1 8.5 17.0 19.4 9.4 12.4 3.5 0.0 93.4

EPA 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.1 0.0 11.6

HHS/NIOSH 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 0.0 6.7

NASA 0.0 8.6 5.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 13.7

HHS/FDA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.5 0.0 6.5

DHS 0.0 3.7 5.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.1

USDA/NIFA 1.0 2.0 5.7 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.5 0.5 9.9

USDA/FS 2.0 1.4 0.7 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.4

CPSC 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.2

DOT/FHWA 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9

DOJ 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2

TOTAL 479.2 331.9 435.2 90.8 75.6 177.6 74.5 36.8 1701.5

Table 4: 2009 Agency Investments from the ARRA by Program Component Area

(dollars in millions)

1. Fundamental

Phenomena & 

Processes

2. Nanomaterials

3. Nanoscale 

Devices

& Systems

4. Instrument 

Research, 

Metrology, & 

Standards

5. Nanomanufacturing

6. Major Research 

Facilities & Instr. 

Acquisition 

7. Environment, 

Health, and Safety

8. Education & 

Societal 

Dimensions

NNI Total

DOE 85.9 137.9 21.8 3.5 18.9 25.0 0.2 0.0 293.2

NSF 29.9 24.7 17.6 4.5 6.1 6.5 3.4 8.5 101.2

HHS/NIH 14.7 15.7 28.6 4.4 0.4 0.7 8.4 0.5 73.4

DOC/NIST 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.1 40.3 0.0 0.0 43.4

TOTAL 130.6 178.3 68.0 12.4 28.5 72.5 12.0 9.0 511.3

• While funding for PCAs 1 and 2 has been sustained, the fastest-growing PCAs in recent years have 

been those for environment, health, and safety (PCA 7, increasing from $35 million in 2005 to $117 

million in the 2011 request) and nanomanufacturing (PCA 5, increasing from $34 million in 2006 to 

$101 million in the 2011 request). This is consistent with the NNI’s commitment to the goal of 

supporting responsible development of nanotechnology, and with broad recognition of the 

importance of both EHS and manufacturing research to realizing the true potential benefits of 

nanotechnology.
2. NNI Investments

10 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Table 5: Estimated 2010 Agency Investments by Program Component Area

(dollars in millions)

1. Fundamental

Phenomena & 

Processes

2. Nanomaterials

3. Nanoscale 

Devices

& Systems

4. Instrument 

Research, 

Metrology, & 

Standards

5. Nanomanufacturing

6. Major Research 

Facilities & Instr. 

Acquisition 

7. Environment, 

Health, and Safety

8. Education & 

Societal 

Dimensions

NNI Total

DOE 103.0 114.5 17.2 21.8 7.0 106.3 2.6 0.5 372.9

NSF 152.6 78.7 43.7 18.3 22.4 37.8 29.8 34.3 417.7

HHS/NIH 48.0 75.9 180.7 18.0 2.2 14.0 17.3 4.6 360.6

DOD 138.8 75.3 148.0 5.9 37.2 28.0 3.1 0.0 436.4

DOC/NIST 22.3 8.4 22.5 19.1 27.2 11.2 3.6 0.0 114.4

EPA 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 17.1 0.0 17.7

HHS/NIOSH 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.5 0.0 9.5

NASA 0.0 8.6 5.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 13.7

HHS/FDA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.3 0.0 7.3

DHS 0.0 6.5 4.9 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.7

USDA/NIFA 1.0 2.0 5.7 0.0 0.2 0.0 1.0 0.5 10.4

USDA/FS 2.0 1.4 0.7 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.4

CPSC 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.2

DOT/FHWA 0.0 2.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2

DOJ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

TOTAL 467.9 373.5 429.9 84.3 96.7 197.3 91.6 39.9 1781.1

Table 6: Proposed 2011 Agency Investments by Program Component Area 

(dollars in millions)

1. Fundamental

Phenomena & 

Processes

2. Nanomaterials

3. Nanoscale 

Devices

& Systems

4. Instrument 

Research, 

Metrology, & 

Standards

5. Nanomanufacturing

6. Major Research 

Facilities & Instr. 

Acquisition 

7. Environment, 

Health, and Safety

8. Education & 

Societal 

Dimensions

NNI Total

DOE 117.2 121.7 30.4 19.3 20.9 111.3 2.6 0.5 423.9

NSF 140.1 74.3 40.7 16.6 32.2 35.3 33.0 29.0 401.3

HHS/NIH 50.3 80.0 193.8 18.6 2.3 14.4 18.3 4.7 382.4

DOD 151.5 39.3 99.0 2.5 25.1 30.7 0.5 0.0 348.5

DOC/NIST 22.4 8.2 20.2 18.5 20.2 11.2 7.3 0.0 108.0

EPA 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 19.5 0.0 20.0

HHS/NIOSH 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.5 0.0 16.5

NASA 0.0 8.4 7.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.8

HHS/FDA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.0 0.0 15.0

DHS 0.0 6.5 4.9 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.7

USDA/NIFA 0.7 1.4 3.8 0.3 0.2 0.0 2.0 0.5 8.9

USDA/FS 2.0 1.4 0.7 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.4

CPSC 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.2 0.0 2.2

DOT/FHWA 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0

DOJ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

TOTAL 484.4 342.3 402.0 76.9 101.4 203.0 116.9 34.8 1761.6
2. NNI Investments

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 11

• There are significant increases requested in nanomanufacturing for 2011—over $26 million, or about 

34%, over 2009. A major component of this increase results from the NIST Technology Innovation 

Program identifying the practical application of advanced materials as an area of critical national need. 

These advanced materials include nanomaterials, advanced alloys, and composites in manufacturing, 

resulting in a new 2010 investment in nanomanufacturing. 

• NIH’s investments in nanotechnology continue to grow, from $40 million in 2001 to $382 million in 

the 2011 request, as diagnostic and therapeutic applications show increasing promise and maturity.

• Investments in environmental, health, and safety research continue to grow substantially, from $87 

million in 2009 (including $12 million in ARRA funds) to a requested $117 million for 2011. The 

requested EHS investment for 2011 is over triple the figure for 2005 ($35 million). The increases are 

primarily targeted for those agencies serving as leading agencies for the five R&D categories identified 

in the NNI Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research

(http://www.nano.gov/NNI_EHS_Research_Strategy.pdf). Increased funding is provided for some 

aspects of all five categories of EHS R&D. 

• Other leading funding categories include the PCAs on nanoscale devices and systems (PCA 3, $402 

million in 2011) and major research facilities and instrumentation acquisition (PCA 6, $203 million 

in 2011). PCA 3 is growing as nanotechnology R&D moves from passive nanostructures to active 

devices and complex systems. Sustained investments in the NNI research infrastructure funded under

PCA 6, with over 60 centers and user facilities spread across the nation, assure that U.S. researchers 

and industries have continued access to the world-class facilities and equipment needed to sustain U.S. 

competitiveness in nanoscale science and technology. Increased funds provided for PCA 6 under 

ARRA in 2009 were used to upgrade equipment and other facilities at DOE, NSF, and NIST user 

facilities. 

• The largest percentage increases in nanotechnology-related funding for 2011 are at agencies that have 

had relatively modest nanotechnology investments in the past. Agencies with responsibilities related to 

EHS issues such as FDA, CPSC, NIOSH, and EPA are requesting significant increases in funding. 

USDA has also increased its investments in recent years, more than doubling the nanotechnology 

budget at the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA, formerly CSREES) since 2007 

(from $3.9 million in 2007 to $8.9 million in the 2011 request), and now including a $5.4 million 

request for nanotechnology R&D at the Forest Service. 

Changes in Balance of Investments by Program Component Area (PCA)

5

P.L. 108-153 calls for this report to address changes in the balance of investments by NNI member 

agencies among the PCAs. These are summarized below for those agencies that are reporting changes for 

2010 and 2011. 

DOD: The DOD does not foresee major changes in its overall investment portfolio in the 

nanotechnology program component areas. With the increasing maturation of nanotechnology research, 

however, increased investment in the broad area of nanomanufacturing (PCA 5) appears likely. Some 

examples of areas being emphasized include the following: (1) creation of highly uniform arrays of carbon 

nanotubes with an electronic grade junction to a silicon semiconductor substrate for ultra-lightweight, 

uncooled infrared detectors, (2) development of bio-enabled fabrication of electronics that bridges topdown and bottom-up approaches to achieve better than 10-nm spatial resolution, and (3) development of 

 

5 Changes are as compared to NNI investments described in the NNI Supplement to the President’s 2010 Budget, 

http://www.nano.gov/html/res/pubs.html.
2. NNI Investments

12 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

electrochemical techniques for patterning metals to produce nanoscale features for antennas, sensors, metamaterials, and catalysts. 

DOE: The predominant DOE components of the NNI are research programs and facilities supported by 

DOE's Office of Science. The investment in 2011 continues to support full operation of the five DOE 

Nanoscale Science Research Center (NSRC) user facilities (corresponding to PCA 6, major research 

facilities and instrumentation acquisition) and an extensive array of individual university grants and 

laboratory research programs. The Energy Frontier Research Centers, larger collaborative efforts in which 

a portion of the activity relates to nanoscale science, are also continued. In 2010 DOE initiates an Energy 

Innovation Hub on Fuels from Sunlight, and this support will continue in 2011, with a portion of the 

activity related to nanoscience. Nanoscience funding increases in 2011 are due partly to small increases 

across all of these mechanisms, with an emphasis on addressing grand science challenges to achieve atomic 

and molecular control of matter and energy. However, much of the increase in 2011 over 2010 results 

from new funding from ARPA-E, the initiation of additional Energy Frontier Research Centers, and the 

formation of a second Energy Innovation Hub focusing on batteries and energy storage. It is anticipated 

that a fraction of these activities will be appropriately characterized as nanoscience. The DOE investment 

in 2011 includes moderate increases across multiple PCAs.

DOT/FHWA: The FHWA’s planned increase to its overall nanotechnology investment will be 

maintained in 2010. 2010 funding will be applied to both nanomaterials (PCA 2) and to nanoscale 

devices and systems (PCA 3).

CPSC: Formally joining the NNI budget crosscut for the first time in 2011, CPSC is requesting $2 

million in increased funding in 2011 in PCA 7 (environment, health, and safety) to allow it to participate 

with other agencies in researching safety aspects of nanomaterials use in consumer products. Planned 2011 

programs include working with other agencies on (1) developing protocols to assess the potential release of 

airborne nanoparticles from various consumer products and to determine their contributions to human 

exposure; (2) determining whether nanomaterials can be used for performance improvement in sports 

safety equipment such as helmets and kneepads without creating other health hazards; (3) expanding

consumer product testing using scientifically credible protocols to evaluate the exposure potential from 

nanosilver in consumer products, with special emphasis on exposures to young children; and (4) working 

across agencies to assure that shared common public health concerns are met in research studies to 

determine potential impacts on the public health of nanomaterial use in consumer products. 

FDA: Formally joining the National Nanotechnology Initiative budget crosscut for the first time in 2011, 

FDA will conduct activities in PCA 7 (environment, health, and safety) that support the following agencywide priorities: (1) laboratory and product testing capacity, (2) scientific staff development and training, 

and (3) collaborative and interdisciplinary research to address product characterization and safety. 

Together, these investments will support responsible development of nanotechnology.

NIH: The NIH nanotechnology investment continues to grow (12.5% from 2008 to 2009). Under the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), NIH invested in PCA 7 

(environment, health, and safety). In addition to the approximately $13 million that NIH’s National 

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) invested in nanotechnology EHS research through 

ARRA (described in Section 4 of this document), NIEHS will provide a $9 million increase to expand its 

NanoHealth and Safety Initiative. With these 2010 funds, NIEHS will support research to link more 

precisely the physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials with biological response, thus supplying 

critical data for hazard and risk assessment. To support the goals of this program, NIEHS is establishing 

collaborations with the NIH/National Cancer Institute’s Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory for 
2. NNI Investments

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 13

physical characterization of nanomaterials and with the Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (CaBIG®) 

NanoLab for data storage.

NIOSH: NIOSH has focused resources on priorities across the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research 

Program. The 2011 Budget includes an increase in this program of more than 70 percent over 2010, 

enabling expansion of research to address major research gaps identified in the NIOSH Nanotechnology 

Progress Report (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-104/) and in the Strategic Plan for NIOSH 

Nanotechnology Research and Guidance (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-105/). 

NIST: The President’s 2011 Budget for NIST will continue to support research in nanotechnology, 

including a doubling of the budget for EHS aspects of nanotechnology (PCA 7, from $3.6 million in 

2010 to $7.3 million in 2011, including a $4 million new initiative request) and significant new 

investments in support of the NNI Signature Initiatives focused on nanomanufacturing ($5 million new 

initiative request) and solar energy. NIST’s expanded nanotechnology EHS program will provide the 

measurement science and technology (reference materials, documentary standards, reference data, 

instruments, and transferable methods and models) essential for science-based risk assessment and risk

management of nanomaterials by regulatory agencies and industry. NIST will target its nanotechnology 

EHS program to measurements of dynamic physico-chemical and toxicological properties of key 

nanomaterials and release of these nanomaterials during manufacturing processes and from products 

throughout full product life cycles. NIST will coordinate and collaborate with other agencies and industry 

to establish linkages between physico-chemical properties and hazard and exposure effects in biological 

systems, the environment, and the workplace. NIST’s nanomanufacturing research will focus on 

establishing measurements and methods to efficiently assemble products that integrate together billions or 

more of nanoscale devices with disparate functions over large areas. The energy-related program will target 

the nanoscale measurement science and tools needed to accelerate breakthroughs in third-generation 

photovoltaic solar cell technologies.

NSF: The 2011 NSF request includes an increase to $32.2 million to support new concepts for PCA 5, 

nanomanufacturing, such as high-rate synthesis and processing of nanostructures, nanostructured catalysts, 

nanobiotechnology methods, fabrication methods for devices, and assembly of devices into nanosystems 

and then into larger-scale structures of relevance in industry and in the medical field. R&D is aimed at 

enabling scaled-up, reliable, cost-effective manufacturing of nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and 

systems. A special focus will be creating active nanostructures and complex nanosystems (PCA 3). 

The investment will emphasize (1) new tools for measuring and restructuring matter for production 

purposes; (2) hierarchical manufacturing of nanosystems by assembling nanoscale components into new 

architectures and fundamentally new products; (3) manufacturing by design using new computer 

principles, computer simulations, and nanoinformatics; and (4) hybrid nanomanufacturing, including 

nanobiotechnology and nanostructured catalysts. An overall goal will be advancing nanomanufacturing 

methods supporting sustainable development. NSF will strengthen its support for the National 

Nanomanufacturing Network composed of four Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers in order to 

better support innovation and to partner and implement the research results with industry, medical 

institutions, and other government agencies. 

In addition: 

• NSF will continue to increase its investment in nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and 

safety research (PCA 7), by using core programs in relevant areas and a separate program solicitation. 
2. NNI Investments

14 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

• Partnerships with small businesses in the United States in the areas of nanomanufacturing and 

commercialization (PCA 5) will be strengthened while maintaining about the same level of NSF 

investment.

• The NSF 2011 request includes $140.1 million for PCA 1 (fundamental nanoscale phenomena and 

processes), a reduction of about $12 million compared to 2010. Some funds resulting from this 

reduction have transitioned into other PCAs as part of the competitive planning process in each NSF 

directorate.

• Several investments in major research facilities and instrumentation acquisition (PCA 6) will be 

reduced, since relevant investments made in previous years have taken effect and the research 

infrastructure is reasonably well established.

USDA/FS: Planned 2011 agency funding for nanotechnology research is focused on cellulosic 

nanomaterials derived from forest-based materials and remains at the $5.4 million level. The balance of 

USDA/FS investments by PCA remain unchanged from 2010, with investments in PCAs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 

(fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes; nanomaterials; nanoscale devices and systems; 

instrumentation research, metrology, and standards; and nanomanufacturing, respectively). 

USDA/NIFA: The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture will continue its balanced 

investment by supporting research, development, education, and outreach activities in seven of the eight 

PCAs (see budget tables with PCA distributions). The primary emphases will remain in nanoscale devices 

and systems (PCA 3) for agricultural and food applications; nanomaterials and nanoscale biomaterials 

(PCA 2); fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes (PCA 1); and environment, health, and safety 

(PCA 7). One new contribution, although small in total dollars, is an increase in PCA 4 for 

instrumentation research, metrology, and standards for nanotechnology. This is in recognition of the need 

to characterize engineered nanoscale materials under background environments in various agricultural and 

food applications.

Utilization of SBIR and STTR Programs to Advance Nanotechnology

As called for by the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, this report includes 

information on use of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology 

Transfer (STTR) programs in support of nanotechnology development. Five NNI agencies—DOD, NSF, 

NIH, DOE, and NASA—have both SBIR and STTR programs. In addition to these agencies, EPA, 

NIOSH, NIST, and USDA have SBIR programs. Table 7 shows 2004 through 2008 (the latest year for 

which data is available) agency funding for SBIR and STTR awards for nanotechnology R&D. USDA/FS 

reported nanotechnology-related SBIR funding for the first time in 2008.

Some NNI agencies (e.g., EPA and NIH) have nanotechnology-specific topics in their SBIR and STTR 

solicitations. Some (e.g., NIH and NSF) have had topical or applications-oriented solicitations for which 

many awardees have proposed nanotechnology-based innovations. All told, with this revised data for 

2004–2008, the NNI agencies have funded over $390 million in nanotechnology-related SBIR and STTR 

awards since 2004. 
2. NNI Investments

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 15

Table 7: 2004–2008 Agency SBIR and STTR Awards

(dollars in millions)

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

SBIR STTR Total SBIR STTR Total SBIR STTR Total SBIR STTR Total SBIR STTR Total 

DOE 6.8 2.8 9.6 7.7 0.4 8.1 18.2 1.6 19.8 17.4 0.8 18.2 13.8 2.7 16.5

NSF 11.9 0.9 12.8 12.1 5.5 17.6 13.9 1.8 15.7 13.4 3.8 17.2 10.5 7.5 18.0

DHHS/NIH 9.3 2.6 11.9 11.1 5.2 16.3 15.1 2.1 17.2 18.4 1.1 19.5 29.3 1.8 31.1

DOD 10.5 6.9 17.4 7.5 5.5 13 12.6 5.6 18.2 8.4 4.2 12.6 19.8 2.3 22.1

DOC/NIST 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.4

EPA 0.6 0.0 0.6 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.2 0.0 1.2 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.7 0.0 0.7

DHHS/NIOSH 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.4

NASA 7.2 0.6 7.8 6.0 0.0 6.0 12.1 1.5 13.6 11.7 1.5 13.2 6.2 0.8 7.0

USDA/FS 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3

USDA/NIFA 0.8 0.0 0.8 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.7 0.0 0.7 1.1 0.0 1.1 0.6 0.0 0.6

TOTAL 47.6 13.8 61.4 46.5 16.6 63.1 74.0 12.6 86.6 71.3 11.4 82.7 81.9 15.1 97.0 
16 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget
The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 17

3. AGENCY INTERESTS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY R&D

Introduction 

In 1999 hearings held by the House Subcommittee on Basic Research of the Committee on Science to 

determine the nation’s interest in nanotechnology, Chairman Nick Smith concluded that because

"nanotechnology holds promise for breakthroughs in health, manufacturing, agriculture, energy use, and 

national security... it is sufficient information to aggressively address funding of this field.” Shortly 

afterwards, the White House announced the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and in August 2000, the 

Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) was constituted as part of the 

NSTC Committee on Technology specifically to facilitate interagency collaboration on nanoscale R&D 

and to provide a framework for setting Federal R&D budget priorities. The NSET Subcommittee 

member agencies with budgets dedicated to nanotechnology R&D continue to fund these programs 

because the work done so far continues to support the early assumptions about the value of this growing 

scientific endeavor. The agencies describe below their individual interests in nanotechnology R&D, as 

they collectively contribute by various means to the welfare of the nation and to their respective agency 

missions and responsibilities. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

As more consumer products employ nanotechnology, concerns are increasing regarding the potential 

health effects associated with human exposure to this technology. There is a growing use of compounds or 

materials that have been produced using nanotechnologies that directly manipulate matter at the atomic 

level and fabrication of materials that could not have been produced in the past. Although these 

nanomaterials may have the same chemical composition as non-nanomaterials, at the nanoscale these 

nanomaterials may demonstrate different physical and chemical properties, and they may behave 

differently in the environment and the human body. Members of the U.S. Congress have stated that they 

recognize nanotechnology as a new technology utilized in the manufacture of consumer products, and that 

they expect the Commission to review the utilization and safety of its application in consumer products 

consistent with the Commission’s mission. In support of that mission, CPSC has requested additional 

funding in 2011 to collect data on nanomaterials use in consumer products

Department of Defense (DOD)

DOD considers nanotechnology to have high and growing potential to contribute to the warfighting 

capabilities of the nation. Because of the broad and interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, DOD

views it as an enabling technology area that should receive the highest level of corporate attention and 

coordination. These priorities are described in the most recent Department of Defense Research and 

Engineering Strategy, which can be accessed online at http://www.dod.mil/ddre/doc 

/Strategic_Plan_Final.pdf. DOD Basic Research acknowledges that realizing the potential of 

nanotechnology is a key research objective for the department. In particular, nanotechnology is an 

enabling technology for the new classes of sensors (such as novel focal plane arrays), communications, and 

information processing systems needed for qualitative improvements in persistent surveillance. The DOD

also invests in nanotechnology for advanced energetic materials, photocatalytic coatings, active 

microelectronic devices, and a wide array of other promising technologies. The DOD nanotechnology 

program is based on coordinated planning and federated execution among the military departments and 

agencies (components) (e.g., the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Defense Threat 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

18 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Reduction Agency). Nanotechnology currently represents a scientifically and technologically advanced 

research theme that has proven and expected value toward enhancing defense capabilities. 

DOD does not establish funding targets for nanotechnology, which has proven to be effectively 

competitive based on its contributions to meeting needs and providing opportunities for future capability. 

New projects are awarded on a competitive basis, and as a result, the balance of investment can change 

from historical levels and predictions. Nonetheless, based on the state of nanoscience and nanotechnology 

research and development, the DOD expects that its primary emphasis will remain in fundamental 

nanoscale phenomena and processes (PCA 1), nanoscale devices and systems (PCA 3), and nanomaterials

(PCA 2). Historically, DOD’s Technology Base (Budget Activity 1–3) investment in nanotechnology has 

been approximately 50% Basic Research, about 40% Applied Research, and about 10% Advanced 

Technology Development. The bulk of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business 

Technology Transfer (STTR) investment in nanotechnology would be categorized as functionally similar 

to Applied Research, although with a strong, direct commercializable product or process aspect more 

analogous to Advanced Technology Development. The current expectation is that these overall 

percentages will be continued through 2011. As nanotechnology research areas and tools providers 

continue to mature, growth can be expected in Applied Research and Advanced Technology Development 

efforts. Maturation of specific products in commercial programs often occurs because of DOD-supported 

Basic and Applied Research efforts that have increased the knowledge and general technology base. For 

this reason, continued robust support is important for foundational research in an area that can be 

valuable to DOD and the nation.

DOD supports competitive research and development in nanotechnology to sustain and increase U.S. 

technological advantage and general capabilities in warfighting and peacekeeping operations. This provides 

a very broad front for nanotechnology efforts that are included in DOD programs. An excellent overview 

of DOD emphasis in nanotechnology may be gained by reviewing the agendas for the upcoming and 

historical Nanotechnology for Defense Conferences at the website https://www.usasymposium.com/

nano/default.htm. The following foci of the 2009 conference provide a good example of the areas that 

DOD finds topical: (1) Nanomaterials and Technology for Energy Conversion and Storage, 

(2) Nanomaterials and Technology for Electronics and EM Sensing, (3) Nanomaterials and Technology 

for Structural Components, and (4) The Interface between Nano/Bio and its Potential Utility. 

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE views nanoscience and nanotechnology as having a vitally important role to play in solving the 

energy and climate change challenges faced by the nation. This broad and diverse field of research and 

development will likely have dramatic impact on future technologies for solar energy collection and 

conversion, energy storage, alternative fuels, and energy efficiency, to name just a few. DOE has 

participated in the NNI since its inception in 2001 and maintains a strong commitment to the initiative, 

which has served as an effective and valuable way of spotlighting needs and targeting resources in this 

critical emerging area. It continues to provide a crucial locus for interagency communication and 

collaboration, and an impetus for coordinated planning. Overall investment in physical sciences has been 

spurred by the NNI, and the research and infrastructure successes have clearly made the United States the 

world leader in this area, with many other nations seeking to emulate this initiative. 

DOE funding spans all eight program component areas of the NNI, with the majority falling into three 

categories: fundamental phenomena and processes (PCA 1), nanomaterials (PCA 2), and major research 

facilities and instrumentation acquisition (PCA 6). In the latter category the DOE investment is 

significantly larger than that of any other agency, due primarily to the planning, construction, and 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 19

operation of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs) located at DOE laboratories. The NSRCs 

operate as user facilities, with access based on submission of proposals that are reviewed by independent 

evaluation boards, and at no cost for non-proprietary work. The NSRCs support synthesis, processing, 

fabrication, and analysis at the nanoscale and are designed to be state-of-the-art user centers for 

interdisciplinary nanoscale research, serving as an integral part of DOE’s comprehensive nanoscience 

program that encompasses new science, new tools, and new computing capabilities.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

DHS interests in nanoscience and associated areas are mostly materials-related, but the agency is making 

inroads into device applications as well this year. The applications for the efforts described below are in 

explosives detection for enhanced security for aviation, mass transit, and first responders:

• Materials toolbox: These efforts are focused on the development of materials systems that allow 

systematic control of chemical and structural features from molecular scales (functional groups) 

through nano- and microscales. The ability to precisely tune material properties is critical for 

successful development of improved active sensor surfaces and analyte collection substrates as well as 

development of novel sensing structures and arrays.

• Advanced preconcentrators: The DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is currently 

investigating the development of high-performance preconcentrators for use in next-generation 

detection systems. The focus of these efforts is the development of nano- and microscale materials that 

enable radio frequency (RF) and optical control of device temperature. To date, several functional 

prototypes have been demonstrated. Commercialization of these devices is currently being pursued.

• Advanced sensing platforms: Work on the development of multimodal carbon nanotube sensing 

platforms continues with industry partners. The emphasis of these efforts is on development of 

manufacturing techniques for low-cost sensor platforms.

Department of Justice/National Institute of Justice (DOJ/NIJ)

The NIJ investment in nanotechnology furthers the Department’s mission through sponsoring research 

that provides objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime 

and justice, particularly at the state and local levels. New projects are awarded on a competitive basis, and 

therefore, total investment may change each fiscal year. However, NIJ continues to view nanotechnology 

as an integral component of its research and development portfolio.

Director of National Intelligence (DNI)

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) R&D program focus emphasizes developments in 

electronics, structural materials, and power generation and energy storage devices:

• In electronics, the program is emphasizing large-scale carbon nanotube (CNT)-based memory, CNTbased logic devices, and CNT field-effect transistors. CNT-based electronics foundry materials and 

processes are completely compatible with operations in a standard silicon foundry. Additionally, CNT 

electronics are inherently radiation-hardened, nonvolatile in nature, and extremely low in power 

consumption because states are retained by van der Waals forces. The 2011 program will emphasize 

increased density for memory devices, progressing from the current 4 million bit memory to 64

million bit and 512 million bit memories for space-based operations. Such progress represents a 100-

fold improvement of current space-survivable memories.
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

20 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

• For structural components, the program will emphasize the use of carbon nanotube threads and yarns 

to produce conductive wires, impact- and bullet-proof panels, support struts, electromagnetic 

suppression boxes, and thermal conductive and thermal-electrical converters. Conductive wire 

research proposes to exceed the conductivity of copper wires while removing up to 80% of the weight 

of a signal or power harness. Research to produce CNT panels to withstand high-velocity space debris 

and to stop large-caliber bullets will be conducted. Research to use functionalized CNT yarns to 

transport heat away from electronic components and convert the heat to power for space systems will 

target a 12% energy conversion efficiency.

• Nanotechnology R&D for power generation and energy storage devices emphasizes topics such as 

quartz nanorods as an improved solar cell cover glass, indium arsenide quantum dot technology for 

higher-efficiency solar cells, and carbon nanotube electrodes and additives to improve the performance 

and safety of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The goal for power generation is to increase solar cell 

efficiency from the present 33% to 47% for monolithic cells in a space environment. Power storage 

R&D aims to replace 9 nickel-hydride batteries with a single Li-ion battery capable of 10 years of 

orbital life. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The 2011 President’s budget request will further EPA’s generation of decision-support information to 

promote the safe development, use, and disposal/recycling of products that contain manufactured 

nanoscale materials. Sustainability is a theme that runs through the EPA nanotechnology research 

program. Using green chemistry and life-cycle assessment approaches, EPA is investigating how 

nanomaterials behave in the environment, how nanomaterial properties may be modified or exposure 

controls implemented to minimize and manage potential risks from products containing nanomaterials, as 

well as ways to minimize inputs, including energy usage, during the production of nanomaterials. 

EPA’s Nanomaterial Research Strategy (http://www.epa.gov/nanoscience) guides EPA’s nanomaterial 

research. The strategy builds on and is consistent with the scientific needs identified in the 2006 NEHI 

Working Group report Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale 

Materials (http://www.nano.gov/NNI_EHS_research_needs.pdf) and on the 2007 EPA Nanotechnology 

White Paper (http://www.epa.gov/osa/nanotech.htm). EPA’s research activities are coordinated across the 

U.S. Federal Government through the NNI and internationally within the Organisation for Economic 

Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Since 2001, EPA has played a leading role in supporting research and setting research directions to develop 

environmental applications for nanotechnology as well as to understand the potential human health and 

environmental implications of nanotechnology. The EPA has provided such leadership through its Science 

to Achieve Results (STAR) grant program and through contracts to small businesses under its Small 

Business Innovation Research program, both of which have developed a cadre of highly skilled researchers 

and engineers with expertise in the area of environmental nanotechnology. EPA’s own research 

laboratories are conducting targeted research to inform decisions related to nanotechnology and the 

environment. EPA collaborates in research with other Federal agencies, as well as internationally by issuing 

joint grant solicitations with other governments (such as the United Kingdom and the European 

Commission) and by EPA’s own researchers joining other nations in the international testing program 

being conducted under the auspices of OECD. As the use of nanomaterials increases, EPA will continue to 

determine how to best leverage advances in nanotechnology to enhance public health and environmental 

protection, as well as to improve scientific knowledge to understand and avoid any possible negative 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 21

impacts of nanomaterials on the environment. The goal is to foster technological advances that maximize 

benefits to society by minimizing environmental impacts. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Nanomaterials often have chemical, physical, or biological properties that are different from those of their 

larger-scale counterparts. Such differences may include altered magnetic, electrical, or optical properties, 

structural integrity, and chemical or biological activity. Because of researchers’ ability to engineer such 

properties, nanoscale materials have great potential for use in a vast array of products, including FDAregulated products intended to protect and promote public health. Also, because of some of their special 

properties, nanomaterials may pose different issues for toxicologic, safety, and effectiveness assessments. As 

such, there is a growing need for scientific information and tools to help better predict or detect potential 

impacts of such changes on human health.

FDA nanotechnology investments in prior and future years are focused on enabling the agency to 

characterize nanotechnology-based products; develop models for safety and efficacy assessment; and study 

the behavior of nanomaterials in biological systems and their effects on human health. These investments 

will support responsible development of nanotechnology.

FDA also continues to foster and develop collaborative relationships with other Federal agencies through 

the NNI, as well as with sister regulatory agencies, international organizations, healthcare professionals, 

industry, consumers, and other stakeholders. These collaborations allow information to be exchanged

efficiently and serve to identify research needed to address the use nanomaterials in FDA-regulated 

products. Although FDA activities will likely be relevant to all four NNI goals, FDA efforts are primarily 

focused on the goal to facilitate responsible development of nanotechnology in three FDA priority areas of 

(1) building laboratory and product testing capacity, (2) establishing scientific staff development and 

training, and (3) engaging in collaborative and interdisciplinary research to address product

characterization and safety.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Nanotechnology is capable of producing tools that can help NIH advance opportunities to develop novel 

diagnostics and therapeutics as well as tools enabling research at cellular and sub-cellular levels.

The emergence of nanotechnology has opened a new era of design-driven research into the development of 

unique 3D nanomaterials and nanostructures with the potential for significant clinical impact across a 

range of diseases and disorders. The NIH continues to expand its support for nanoscale engineering of 

multifunctional systems for drug and gene therapy, nanostructures for tissue engineering, and a variety of 

other biomedical applications, in addition to research tools that aid in understanding the underlying 

causes of diseases. Progress continues in development of sensors that are both selective and highly sensitive, 

for early diagnosis of disease (when disease is easiest to treat). Some of these sensors involve imaging 

techniques that pinpoint chemical and biochemical processes that are characteristic of specific diseases; 

these exams complement current anatomical imaging to provide essential information for early diagnosis. 

Others may be used as lab tests that identify early markers of diseases such as cancer or heart disease from a 

small drop of blood or saliva. Multifunctional nanoparticles are being developed to deliver conventional or 

novel therapeutics directly to the specific tissues or cells in the body that are affected by disease, sparing 

healthy cells from drug side-effects. Some of these particles may help doctors to detect how much 

medicine is needed at a particular time, and to dispense only that dose at the time and location in the body 

where it is needed. 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

22 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Nanotechnology-based research tools are being used to better understand the causes and course of diseases, 

and the effects of genetics and environment on individual patients. NIH plays a substantial role in 

developing understanding of how to design nanoparticles so they can be safe to use both for 

manufacturing and for medical treatments. NIH research projects are awarded through rigorous peer 

review by a variety of mechanisms that range from large, multidisciplinary centers as components of 

agency-designed programs, to projects submitted by individual investigators who compete for funding of 

their most creative and promising ideas. 

Commercialization is facilitated through funding of SBIR/STTR grants and programs at the various NIH 

institutes that encourage universities and companies to collaborate, and by providing resources and 

expertise to test novel formulations for safety and biological activity. Ongoing clinical testing of numerous 

potential products is an encouraging sign that the investment is paying off and continues to be highly 

productive.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Since the inception of the NIOSH nanotechnology program in 2004, NIOSH researchers have conducted 

pioneering studies on the hazards of manufactured nanomaterials, real-world exposures to workers, and 

the effectiveness of exposure mitigation techniques such as respiratory protection. The NIOSH 

Nanotechnology Field Research project (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/field.html), a 

partnership effort with industry, has been a highly successful and popular resource for hosting 

organizations and for NIOSH. These studies provide detailed information facilitating risk assessment and 

management and continue to remind all involved that prudent measures should be taken in mitigating 

potential exposures to nanomaterials in the workplace.

NIOSH focuses its activities on evaluating the potential hazards of select nanomaterials, assessing human 

exposures in workplace and potential health risk, evaluating controls and risk management practices for 

safe handling of nanomaterials, and developing guidance on medical screening and evaluation of workers. 

Any increase in funding would support research to address the following areas: 

• NIOSH toxicology studies have provided better understanding of the ways in which some types of 

nanoparticles may enter the body and interact with the body’s organ systems; the breadth and depth 

of such research efforts have been limited to a few nanoparticle types. More types of nanoparticles 

need to be assessed for characteristics and properties relevant for predicting potential health risks.

• NIOSH field investigators have assessed exposure to engineered nanoparticles in some workplaces, but 

little data exist on the extent and magnitude of exposures to other types of nanoparticles in workplaces 

that manufacture or use nanomaterials, nanostructures, and nanodevices.

• NIOSH guidance is a first step toward controlling nanoparticles in the workplace; however, more 

research is needed on the efficacy and specificity of engineering and work-practice control measures. 

Significantly more field research is needed to develop guidance based on evaluating possible short- and 

long-term health risks in nanotechnology workers, and to develop guidance for medical studies and 

for prospective medical epidemiologic studies.

• The utility of nanotechnology to support development of new technologies (such as sensors, more 

efficient filters, and better protective materials) that can enhance the protection of workers requires 

further research and development. 

Internationally, NIOSH will expand its support and leadership activities in nanotechnology safety and 

health in the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Institute for Training and 

Research (UNITAR), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 23

International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In addition, NIOSH is providing support to the 

International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) project “Good Nano Guide” 

(http://goodnanoguide.org/).

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Advancing nanoscale measurement science, standards, and nanotechnology is an important component of 

NIST’s mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness. From leading cutting-edge 

research to coordinating the development of standards that promote trade, NIST’s programs in 

nanotechnology directly impact priorities important to the nation’s economy and well-being. The 

nanotechnology-related research conducted in NIST’s laboratories develops measurements, standards, and 

data crucial to a wide range of industries and Federal agencies, from the development of advanced 

spectroscopic methods needed to increase efficiency in advanced photovoltaics, to the development of the 

standard reference materials and data necessary to accurately quantify and measure the presence and 

impact of nanomaterials in the environment. NIST further supports the U.S. nanotechnology enterprise 

from discovery to production through its Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), 

established in 2007. The CNST creates the next generation of nanoscale measurement instruments, makes 

them available through collaboration, and provides rapid access to a world-class, shared-use 

nanofabrication facility, the NanoFab. NIST’s Technology Innovation Program is investing in the 

development of transformational technologies necessary to advance the large-scale manufacture of 

nanomaterials. In coordination with the private sector, NIST provides the technical foundation and 

leadership to the development of international nanotechnology standards—standards that are a key to 

opening new markets and facilitating trade and commerce.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

The National Science Foundation supports nanoscale science and engineering in all disciplines throughout 

all its research and education directorates as a means to promote discovery and innovation and integrate 

various fields of research. NNI funding provides a source of increased interdisciplinarity for about 5,000 

active awards that represent more than 10% of the overall NSF portfolio. About 10,000 students and 

teachers are educated and trained in nanoscale science and engineering each year. Over 100 small 

businesses were funded to perform research and product development in nanotechnology through the 

SBIR/STTR programs.

The National Science Foundation supports upstream research and education in all areas of nanoscale 

science and engineering, leading to a flexible infrastructure and educational pipeline at the national level. 

It also advances nanotechnology innovation through a variety of translational research programs and by 

partnering with industry, states, and other agencies. The investment of $418 million in 2010 will support 

over 4,000 active projects, over 30 large centers grouped in ten networks, and 10,000 students and 

teachers. About $20 million has been allocated in 2009 for nanotechnology-related SBIR/STTR projects 

based on merit review; this opportunity will continue in 2011. 

Fundamental changes envisioned through nanotechnology have required a long-term R&D vision. NSF 

sponsored the first initiative dedicated to nanoparticles in 1991, the 1997–1999 program Partnership in 

Nanotechnology, and it produced the 1999 interagency report Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision 

for Nanotechnology in the Next Decade that was adopted as an official NSTC document in 2000. 

NSF’s nanotechnology research is supported primarily through grants to individuals, teams, and centers at 

U.S. academic institutions. The efforts in team and center projects have been particularly fruitful because 

nanoscale research and education are inherently interdisciplinary pursuits, often combining elements of 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

24 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

chemistry, biology, manufacturing, physics, optics, and photonics, and nearly every other field of basic 

science. An illustration is the Nanotechnology Computational Network that has reached 100,000 research 

and education users annually.

A main NSF funding increase in 2011 is for nanomanufacturing to support new concepts for high-rate 

synthesis and processing of nanostructures, nanostructured catalysts, nanobiotechnology methods, and 

methods for fabricating devices, assembling them into nanosystems, and then into larger-scale structures of 

relevance in industry and in the medical field. R&D is aimed at enabling scaled-up, reliable, cost-effective 

manufacturing of nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems. The National Nanomanufacturing 

Network is organized around four centers collaborating with other NNI agencies. Environmental, health, 

and safety implications of nanotechnology, including development of predictive toxicity of nanomaterials, 

will be investigated in three dedicated multidisciplinary centers and in over 60 other smaller groups.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA/FS)

Forests are a major strategic asset of the United States and provide critically important economic and 

environmental benefits, including jobs in rural America, recreation, watershed management, wildlife 

habitat, and other critically important ecosystem services. Trees, the basis for the U.S. forest products 

sector, are a sustainable, renewable resource that helps mitigate climate change through the sequestration 

of carbon—both in the growth of forest biomass and in forest products—and they represent a vast 

storehouse of renewable feedstock for production of biomass-derived fuels, power, and chemicals. Each 

year over 200 million tons of wood are converted to over $250 billion of products, employing over 1.4 

million Americans and representing about 6 percent of America’s manufacturing Gross Domestic Product. 

Despite the large tonnages used, the United States harvests less than one percent of its total standing forest 

biomass each year, and the volume of annual growth over harvest ratio in America’s forests is over 2:1. 

Nanotechnology has enormous promise to bring about fundamental changes and significant benefit to the 

nation. Nanotechnology offers the way to efficiently and effectively capitalize on a major strategic national 

asset to make forest-derived materials the “materials of choice for the 21st century.” Wood from trees is 

made up of nanodimensional building blocks that: (1) have strength properties greater than Kevlar® and 

piezoelectric properties equivalent to quartz, (2) can be manipulated to produce photonic structures, 

(3) are remarkably uniform in size and shape, (4) possess self-assembly properties, and (5) can be 

renewably produced in quantities of tens of millions of tons. Recognizing the importance of this emerging 

opportunity, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service R&D (FS R&D) has taken steps to establish a 

foundation in forest products nanotechnology research and development. Through participation in the 

NNI and representation on the NSET Subcommittee, FS R&D is partnering with other Federal entities 

(e.g., NIST, NSF, DOE, DOD), industry, and academia to develop the precompetitive science and 

technology critical to the economic and sustainable production and use of new high-value, 

nanotechnology-enabled, forest-based materials and products. 

The U.S. forest products industry, through the American Forest & Paper Association Agenda 2020 

Technology Alliance, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the NSET Subcommittee to form 

a Cooperative Board for Advancing Nanotechnology (CBAN). The U.S. forest products industry is in a 

unique position to tap the huge potential nanotechnology provides, in two primary ways. First, by

becoming a user of nanotechnology materials and components in its products and processes, the industry 

can upgrade its processes and produce new high-performance consumer products from lignocellulosicbased materials in a safe and sustainable manner. Second, the industry intends to become a producer and 

developer of novel, sustainable nanomaterials to replace nonsustainable materials such as those from fossil 

fuels. For example, use of wood-derived nano-dimensional cellulose in nanocomposites will allow the 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 25

production of much lighter-weight, hyper-strength, multifunctional materials to replace metals and 

plastics, with widespread application in many industry sectors. Other potential applications include 

electronic displays and microelectronic devices; clear armor; self-sterilizing and self-healing surfaces; 

pharmaceutical products; and intelligent wood- and paper-based products with an array of microsensors 

and nanosensors built in to measure forces, loads, moisture levels, temperature, pressure, chemical 

emissions, and attack by mold and wood-decaying fungi. 

Recognizing that the values of wood and wood-based materials at the nanoscale are virtually untapped, 

industry technology leaders working with government and academia have developed a vision for 

nanotechnology and identified three priority focus areas: 

• Creating new revenue streams from production of new generations of high-value, high-performance, 

innovative nanotechnology-enabled products and forest-derived nanomaterials

• Improving the strength/weight performance of traditional paper- and wood-based structural materials

• Developing new value-added, multifunctional features for paper and forest products

FS R&D is continuing to focus on developing its internal wood-based nanotechnology research capacities 

and to effectively partner with industry, academia, and other Federal entities. The National 

Nanotechnology Initiative is critical to advancing this public-private-university partnership. In addition, 

the NNI effectively addresses nanotechnology-focused environmental, health, and safety issues as well as 

ethical, legal, and societal issues—areas where FS R&D has little or no expertise or capacity to carry out 

credible work.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture 

(USDA/NIFA) 

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

was established by the 2008 Farm Bill to serve the nation’s needs by supporting exemplary research, 

education, and extension that addresses challenges facing the nation. Research enables Americans to 

develop the knowledge needed to innovatively solve many critical societal issues. Education strengthens 

schools and universities to train the next generation of scientists, educators, producers, and citizens. 

Extension brings the knowledge gained and technology development through research and education to 

the people who need it most—in the United States and around the world. 

NIFA’s current priority areas include (1) global food security and hunger, (2) climate change, 

(3) sustainable energy, (4) childhood obesity, and (5) food safety. Nanoscale science and nanotechnology 

has demonstrated relevance and great potential to enable revolutions in broad agriculture and food 

systems, including plant production and products; animal health, production, and products; food safety, 

nutrition, health, and wellness; renewable energy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems 

and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities. The agency’s nanotechnology research 

has broadly contributed to the NNI PCAs, with primary emphasis on fundamental nanoscale phenomena 

and processes (PCA 1), nanomaterials (PCA 2), nanoscale devices and systems (PCA 3), and environment, 

health, and safety (PCA 7). 

In particular, NIFA’s nanoscale science and nanotechnology research has focused its investment on 

detection and intervention technologies for enhancing food safety and agricultural biosecurity; effective 

and safe delivery of bioactives in functional foods for improving human health and wellness; and product 

traceability, identity preservation, and tracking to embrace the continuous advancement of information 

technology for better decision making through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), 

NIFA’s flagship competitive grants program. AFRI also has supported research to assess and analyze the 
3. Agency Interests in Nanotechnology R&D

26 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

perceptions and acceptance of nanotechnology applications in food and agriculture and nanotechnologybased products by the general public, the agriculture producers, the processing industry, and other 

stakeholders, using appropriate social science tools. Future opportunities for research investment include 

using plants or animals (or cells or cultures of plants and animals) to produce specifically constructed 

nanomaterials at low cost in genetically engineered organisms. NIFA’s SBIR program also supports 

innovative nanotechnology research and development throughout its broad topic areas.
The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 27

4. PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING NNI GOALS AND PRIORITIES

NNI Contributions to Administration Goals for the Nation

The NSET Subcommittee’s coordination of member agencies’ NNI programs is guided by and 

contributes to many of the Administration’s goals for the nation in terms of the economy, energy, the 

environment, technology, and national defense, among other areas. Details of NNI contributions in these 

areas are provided in the NNI Supplement to the President’s 2010 Budget; please see 

http://www.nano.gov/NNI_2010_budget_supplement.pdf, pages 13–14.

Activities Relating to the Four NNI Goals

As called for in the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, the 2007 NNI Strategic 

Plan states that the interagency analysis of progress under the NNI will be provided in the annual NNI 

Supplement to the President’s Budget. As indicated in the plan, the NNI’s activities for 2009 and 2010 

and plans for 2011 are reported here in terms of how they promote progress toward the four NNI goals. 

Goal-related activities are in turn reported in terms of two categories of activities: (1) individual agency 

activities and (2) coordinated activities, including engagement with other agencies and groups and 

activities external to the NNI, and international activities. A brief report of progress toward the NNI goals 

in terms of these two categories follows. The activities described below are only selected highlights of current 

and planned work of the NNI member agencies and are not an all-inclusive description of ongoing NNI 

activities. 

Goal 1: Advance a world-class nanotechnology research and development program

The NNI member agencies have sustained a strategic investment in nanotechnology R&D, something 

that is widely recognized as essential for the development and successful exploitation of any emerging 

technology. The expanded investment by this Administration in nanotechnology will build on the 

foundation established over the past ten years and set the stage for transitioning the basic research 

discoveries into technologies and products for the benefit of our society and the nation’s economy.

As indicated in the NNI Strategic Plan, the NNI is (1) sustaining a variety of complementary R&D 

investment pathways, including single-investigator research, multi-investigator and team efforts,

interdisciplinary centers of excellence, and user facilities and networks; (2) mapping the leading edge of 

R&D by sponsoring topical and strategy-setting workshops; (3) coordinating the NNI research and 

development investments across multiple agencies; and (4) stimulating collaborations and interactions 

across agencies, disciplines, industrial sectors, and nations. Examples of efforts toward all four components 

of this goal are presented below.

Individual Agency Contributions to Goal 1

DOD: Specific examples of DOD investments in Goal 1 are as follows:

• Research in graphene focuses on the study, manipulation, and simulation of charge transport; the 

engineered synthesis of desired electronic properties; and device fabrication technology that will lead 

to understanding of the fundamental graphene device physics and technology for advancement of 

multifunctional electronic devices and establish an enabling science and technology in graphene 

nanoelectronics for commercial, public, and DOD benefits. The Army Research Laboratory hosted a 

2-day workshop on graphene electronics in 2009 as the first in a series of workshops on this topic. The 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

28 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

workshop attracted 47 eminent scientists and researchers from academia and several DOD agencies as 

well as researchers from 5 leading industrial organizations.

• Research is conducted exploiting the ability to integrate unique properties of nanomaterials with 

conventional, industry-standard microfabrication and nanofabrication technology for the realization 

of novel actuators for microrobotics, small- and large-scale high-density energy storage and generation 

systems, and novel micro-initiator concepts for fuse applications. In 2010 this effort is expanded 

beyond nanoporous silicon to pursue the integration of currently incompatible 

microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoenergetic materials and processes, such as ink jet 

and thin film deposition techniques for an explosive chemical (RDX) and energetic intermetallic 

compositions.

• Organic nanomaterials for flexible and printed electronics and displays are being pursued by an Army 

team that has designed and synthesized nanoscale organic molecular pair structures that interact to 

form a charge separation across the pair, or a charge-transfer complex, that enhances charge transport.

• The area of bandgap engineering involves nanostructures such as quantum wells, superlattices, 

quantum dots, and nanopillars for a wide variety of applications including infrared imaging, energy 

generation and harvesting, and laser and light-emitting diode (LED) sources. The first quantum dot 

solar cells operating in the near-infrared (0.9 micron to 1.1 micron) wavelength range have been 

demonstrated this past year at the Army Research Laboratory. Material is being provided to the State 

University of New York at Stony Brook for minority carrier lifetime measurements in type II SLS 

(strained superlattice) structures for infrared detection.

• At the Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center 

(CERDEC) under the Breakthrough Antenna Technology program, research is being conducted to 

mature and develop printed conformal antennas utilizing artificial magnetic metamaterials. As part of 

this objective, a nanomaterials effort will synthesize up to eight different series of magnetic metal 

nanoparticles with dielectric shell coatings in kilogram-scale quantities. Included in this effort will be a 

characterization of each compound with respect to particle distribution and phase uniformity. 

• The first significant improvement in thermoelectric power factors and overall thermoelectric 

performance was demonstrated by Office of Naval Research researchers in a nanocomposite of semimetallic nanoparticles in a compound semiconductor matrix. The composite exhibited resonant states 

in the electronic band structure. This material's performance has been independently validated and 

has attracted industrial interest for automobile waste heat recovery.

DOE: The Department of Energy’s support for the National Nanotechnology Initiative continues to 

come primarily from the DOE’s Office of Science through support of fundamental R&D, 

instrumentation, and construction and operation of major research facilities. In 2010 the 46 new Energy 

Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) that DOE awarded and initiated in 2009 are fully operational. These 

collaborative, multi-investigator, multi-institution research projects bring together interdisciplinary teams 

from universities, national labs, and industry to focus on energy-relevant fundamental science. A 

significant fraction of the EFRC research is classified as nanoscience, and that portion is reported in the 

budget figures provided. 

In 2010, DOE will initiate an Energy Innovation Hub focused on solar fuels to continue to encourage 

collaboration and team science and to connect the research labs to the industrial world. An Energy 

Innovation Hub focused on batteries and energy storage is requested in 2011. It is expected that some 

portion of the research activities in both hubs will involve nanotechnology, and that portion has been

estimated in the budget figures provided. 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 29

NIH (ARRA-Related Activities): NIH has received new funds for 2009 and 2010 as part of the American 

Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The ARRA Funds were distributed using various 

strategies and mechanisms to develop and implement critical research innovations to advance the research 

enterprise, stimulate future growth and investments, and advance public health and healthcare delivery. 

NIH initiatives were created to support this endeavor and have resulted in funding of nanotechnology 

R&D projects. These include the Challenge Grants (RC1), Grand Opportunity (GO) Grants, and Small 

Business Investments (RC3). A complete list of Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) related to 

the ARRA is available at http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/. For a current listing of ARRA-funded 

nanotechnology projects, visit the NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT), accessible 

via http://report.nih.gov/recovery/ and conduct a keyword search on nanotechnology and ARRA for 2009 

within the RePORTer box located at the left column.

Under the Recovery Act, NIH established a new program entitled “Research and Research Infrastructure 

Grand Opportunities” called the “GO” grants program (RFA-09-004). The purpose of the GO grants 

program is to support high-impact ideas that lend themselves to short-term funding and may lay the 

foundation for new fields of investigation. The GO grants program supports large-scale research projects 

that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new 

approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research 

teams. Using this mechanism, for example, the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences 

(NIGMS) made 2-year awards to develop and refine methods for building multifunctional particles and 

probes that target and deliver chemical agents to locate, activate, image, or medicate targets within a cell or 

organism. A similar strategy was employed by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and 

Bioengineering (NIBIB), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute (NHLBI) to develop multifunctional delivery systems that combine imaging and therapeutic 

agents to diagnose and treat diseases (termed “theranostics”) through the NIH Challenge Grants in Health 

and Science Research (RC1) solicitation (RFA-OD-09-003). The purpose of this new program was to 

fund projects that propose novel research in areas that address specific knowledge gaps, scientific 

opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods in scientific areas identified by the 

institutes and centers of NIH through 2010. The NIH National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial 

Research (NIDCR) also utilized this RC1 mechanism to support R&D in developing new materials such 

as nanocomposites and smart self-healing materials to enhance restorative properties for dental needs (e.g., 

adhesives, improved durability, better aesthetics, and maximum biocompatibility) and such as 

nanostructured surfaces to control endogenous cells and processes in vivo. These awards complement 

NIDCR’s recently issued 2009 RFA (Request for Applications) on “Harnessing Inflammation for 

Reconstruction of Oral and Craniofacial Tissues.” Six awards were made at the end of 2009, totaling 

$3.45 million, to develop advanced bioengineering methodologies and/or nanotechnology-based tools and 

strategies for resolving acute and chronic inflammation and regenerating such tissues.

NIH/NIEHS increased its investment in understanding the potential health, safety, and environmental 

effects of engineered nanomaterials by awarding approximately $13 million over a two-year period 

through ARRA. NIEHS awarded 13 new two-year grants to develop better methods to assess exposure and 

health effects associated with nanomaterials. Ten of the grants were awarded through the NIH Grand 

Opportunities program announced in March 2009; see http://www.niehs.nih.gov/recovery/nanomaterialgo.cfm for details. Three were funded from the NIH Challenge Grants program. All 13 are aimed at 

developing reliable tools and approaches to determine the impact of engineered nanomaterials on 

biological systems and health outcomes. 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

30 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

NIH/NCI dedicated $7–8 million of its ARRA funding to pursuing further discovery and clinical 

translation in cancer nanotechnology. This funding supplemented operation of its Centers of Cancer 

Nanotechnology Excellence and Nanotechnology Platforms as well as covered selected Challenge (RC1) 

and Grand Opportunities (RC2) grants.

NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) selected $1,000 Genome Sequencing 

Technology Development as its ARRA Signature Project. Nanotechnology is central to several awards 

made under this and other NHGRI ARRA funding. Included is a study on ethical challenges related to 

nanotechnology research.

NIH (Non-ARRA Activities): In 2010, NIBIB and NIEHS plan to co-fund a contract proposal in 

response to a recent solicitation to develop and launch a Federally curated interoperative registry designed 

to link existing databases that define physical, chemical, and other properties of nanomaterials for the 

community. 

NIBIB also issued a 3-year program announcement in November 2008 entitled “Innovation in Molecular 

Imaging Probes” (PAR-09-016) that resulted in grants that will engineer nanoprobes or develop 

nanotechnology-enabled tools to detect and image specific molecular activities in vivo for clinical 

applications. This FOA is a follow-up of a previous NIH Common Fund RFA (RM-04-021 “Innovation 

in Molecular Imaging Probes”).

In 2009, the NIBIB and NHLBI issued a 3-year FOA to support the development of novel, 

multifunctional delivery systems that can target the delivery of therapeutic agents to specific cells or 

compartments within cells, in vivo, and that possess imaging or sensing capabilities to track delivery and 

determine therapeutic efficacy. In addition to the real-time assessment of targeted therapy with enhanced 

efficacy, the identification of quantitative in vivo relationships between the carrier and cellular events must 

be determined, which in turn will lead to new engineering design principles at the nanoscale.

NIST: NIST’s research program in nanotechnology is addressing national needs in energy, the 

environment, healthcare, information technology security, manufacturing, and physical infrastructure, as 

illustrated by the following examples: 

• NIST is broadly applying quantum phenomenon at the nanoscale, including single-photon counting, 

single and entangled photon sources, and quantum coherence, to develop revolutionary devices for 

communications, sensing, and spectroscopy. 

• Next-generation standards are being developed using nanotechnology, including new electrical 

resistance standards that exploit the unique quantum properties of graphene, and the first SI-traceable 

nanoindentation instrument for measuring mechanical properties at the nanoscale. 

• NIST has developed a low-cost technique for measuring infrared light that is over 1,000 times more 

sensitive than existing instruments and is capable of measuring the infrared spectrum at single-photon 

levels emitted by fragile biomaterials and nanomaterials. 

• NIST is developing next-generation chemical measurements with molecular- and atomic-scale 

resolution and will enhance its capabilities in 2010 with atom-probe tomography. 

• NIST’s ultralow-temperature (10 mK), ultrahigh-vacuum, high-magnetic-field (15 T), scanning probe 

microscope laboratory began operation in November 2009, capable of measuring quantum 

nanoelectronics phenomena with unprecedented spatial and energy resolution.
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 31

In 2010 the NIST Technology Innovation Program awarded $22.8 million in grants, primarily to small 

companies, to advance nanomanufacturing and create nanoscale devices and systems. NIST also awarded

multiple ARRA grants supporting over $3 million of university nanotechnology research.

NSF: New efforts planned by NSF in 2011 for Goal 1 include the following:

• Planning and enhancing funding for the programs

- Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond

- Nanotechnology for Regenerating the Human Body

- Nanotechnology for Solar Energy Collection and Conversion

- Nanostructured Catalysts for Green Manufacturing

- Nanomanufacturing for Sustainable Development

• Enhancing funding for quantum information systems

USDA/NIFA: NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative nanotechnology research and 

development supports the agency’s mission and its strategic goals. Currently, AFRI plans to support 

interdisciplinary, multifunctional projects in five grand societal challenge areas to achieve significant and 

measurable outcomes. The five goals are: (1) keep American agriculture competitive while ending world 

hunger, (2) improve nutrition and end child obesity, (3) improve food safety for all Americans, (4) secure 

America’s energy future through renewable biofuels, and (5) mitigate and adapt agriculture to variations in 

climate. Nanoscale science, engineering, and nanotechnology will provide enabling tools to aid 

development of innovative solutions to these challenges. 

USGS: USGS research in nanotechnology focuses in two areas. Work is underway to examine the fate and 

effects of nanotubes in sediment-dwelling organisms. Additionally, USGS scientists are examining the fate 

of nanoparticles in the aquatic environment. Some of this research concerns bacterially mediated 

production of quantum dots, and the remainder centers on the detection and fate of anthropogenically 

derived nanoparticles.

Coordinated Activities with Other Agencies and Other Institutions Contributing to Goal 1 

DOD and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC): The Army Aviation and Missile Research 

Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) plans to coordinate with ECBC to test and validate 

AMRDEC-developed chemical/gas nanosensors.

NIH and the Chinese Academy of Sciences: The National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI), the National 

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH/NIEHS), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences 

organized the “First Joint U.S.-China Symposium on Nanobiology and Nanomedicine” in Beijing, 

October 20–22, 2008; the follow-up meeting is to be held in Washington, DC, in 2010. The goal of the 

symposium was to exchange research experiences and consider possible collaborations in the areas of 

cancer nanotechnology (prevention, detection, and treatment of the disease), and the effects of exposure to 

nanomaterials on the general public and the environment. In the United States, over $1.5 billion/year of 

Federal support is dedicated to nanotechnology research and development (http://www.nano.gov 

/NNI_2010_budget_supplement.pdf). The Chinese government has established several nanotechnology 

research centers, including the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing. In response 

to this rapidly maturing nanotechnology research base in China, this meeting and follow-up conversations 

concerning possible venues of interactions should produce joint projects leveraging strengths of efforts in 

both countries and promote exchanges of researchers.
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

32 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

NIH and U.S. and Indian cancer researchers: NCI participated in the 1st Indo-U.S. Cancer 

Nanotechnology Symposium in New Delhi, February 4–6, 2009. The meeting brought together 

researchers from India and the United States to discuss possible collaborations, student exchanges, and 

joint funding opportunities. 

NIST, other agencies, industry, and universities: NIST co-sponsors workshops with a wide range of 

partners to identify measurement needs for nanotechnology. In 2009, workshops were held on Enabling 

Standards for Nanomaterial Characterization; Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for 

Nanoelectronics; Calibrations and Standards for Nanomechanical Measurements; and Nanoscale 

Measurement Challenges for Energy Applications. In 2010, workshops are planned on Nano-Optics, 

Plasmonics, and Advanced Materials; and Metrology and Standards for Nanoelectronics.

NRO with DOD (Air Force) and NASA: The National Reconnaissance Office, the United States Air 

Force Space and Missile Center, and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force 

Base are coordinating and conducting joint electronic component R&D. NASA provides early 

demonstration flights for developed carbon nanotube electronics and radiation testing to qualify 

electronics for space operations.

NRO with DOD: The Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Production Act, monitors R&D 

success and aids to move pilot-scale plants to full production facilities for carbon nanotube materials for 

structural components.

NRO with DOE: Power generation and energy storage R&D is conducted with the Department of 

Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

USDA/FS and industry: The USDA Forest Service has forged a strong working relationship with the U.S. 

Forest Products Industry, primarily through the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Agenda 

2020 Technology Alliance. AF&PA includes most of the leading forest products companies in the United 

States. A common research, development, and deployment agenda has been identified with appropriate 

roles for industry, government, and universities. Industry through the AF&PA Agenda 2020 Technology 

Alliance is spearheading a drive to raise the visibility of nanotechnology in the forest products sector by 

(1) having a set of industry priority applications; (2) linking with the U.S. National Nanotechnology 

Initiative through a Forest Products Industry NNI-NILI-CBAN; (3) developing a core group of Federal 

laboratories, universities, and industry to advance an industry-led effort that makes use of the expertise 

that industry has to commercialize nanomaterials and nano-enabled products; and (4) identifying annual 

funding needs and funding sources. 

Goal 2: Foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public 

benefit

The NNI member agencies have a number of activities uniquely targeting technology transfer and 

commercialization, e.g., workshops to gain input from industry and the academic community, SBIR and 

STTR programs to fund innovations in small businesses, and forefront research infrastructure for use by 

all nanotechnology researchers, including those from industry. Some positive results from this effort are 

now evident. 

Individual Agency Contributions to Goal 2 

DOD: Examples of emphasis and progress in DOD efforts within Goal 2 follow:
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 33

• A new detector imaging approach has been demonstrated that converts photons from an incoming 

optical signal into surface plasmon waves (as sound waves are produced by oscillating air molecules, 

plasmons are quantized oscillations of the electron gas in a metal). The plasmon waves are formed in a 

metal film that is typically less than 100 nm thick and bonded to a semiconductor substrate. The 

plasmon waves are collected by a slit in the metal film, where their energy is focused to produce 

electron/hole pairs in the semiconductor. The electron/hole pairs, in turn, give rise to a measurable 

electrical signal. Different polarization signals can be produced from the same imaging chip by 

fabricating different slit orientations, and multispectral signals can be produced by fabricating an 

imaging chip that has several different slit sizes. This accomplishment provides a decrease in detector 

size of at least 50% relative to existing technology at equivalent resolution.

• Munitions enhanced with nano-aluminum powder are being developed to give performance and 

lethality enhancements in miniaturized munitions needed for the reduced volume of advanced aircraft 

munitions bays and for weaponization of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Munitions using nanoaluminum powder may give improved lethality by improving the airblast and the shrapnel accelerating 

capability over conventional formulations. Nanoparticles have much higher surface area and are 

therefore more reactive for a given weight than conventional powders. The reaction rate of 

nanopowders can be controlled by adjusting the nanoparticle diameter, giving tailorability for 

optimized airblast and for fragment formation and acceleration. Only a few percent by volume of 

nano-aluminum powder could previously be added to munitions formulations, which created a barrier 

to the development, production, and characterization of advanced munitions with significant 

additions of nano-aluminum powders.

DOE: The Department of Energy supports nanotechnology transfer, industrial manufacturing activities, 

and commercialization through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and its 

Industrial Technologies Program (ITP). In 2011, ITP’s Nanomanufacturing efforts will be focused on 

realizing the translation of the tremendous U.S. investment in nanoscience to the industrial sector through 

large-scale energy-efficient fabrication and functionalization of nanomaterials. This can only be achieved 

through the accelerated adaptation of advanced nanomanufacturing technologies developed through 

research, development, and deployment activities among national laboratories, universities, and industry.

Examples of nanomaterial fabrication and functionalization technologies within ITP’s portfolio include 

the following: 

• Energy-efficient large-scale manufacturing of nanoparticles for photovoltaic and light-emitting diodes 

(LEDs)

• Nano-composite coatings for improved wear resistances, advanced lithium-ion battery electrodes, and 

dye-sensitized thin film photovoltaic applications

• Self-assembled, nanostructured carbon for energy storage and water treatment

• Nanocatalysts for diesel engine emission remediation and efficient biofuel production

DOT/FHWA: The Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Research, Development, and Technology 

will maintain an increased investment in 2010 and 2011 through its Exploratory Advanced Research 

Program. Nanoscale approaches for inhibiting and mitigating corrosion and structural health monitoring 

via nanoscale sensors and devices are being pursued to enable more durable and efficient infrastructure 

systems.

NIH: Academic institutions involved in the National Cancer Institute’s Alliance for Nanotechnology in 

Cancer have been very active in forming start-up companies dedicated to the clinical translation and 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

34 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

commercialization of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics based on nanotechnology. Overall, 34 companies 

have been formed since the inception of the program (2005), and 250 patent disclosures have been issued 

or filed to cover intellectual property of these technologies.

The NIH also reissued the Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative for Small Business Innovation 

Research (PA-09-267) on October 2, 2009. The purpose of this trans-NIH solicitation is to stimulate 

Small Business Innovation Research that employs nanotechnology to enable the development of 

diagnostics and interventions for treating diseases. This FOA is designed to bring about fundamental 

changes to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of an array of diseases and traumatic injuries. To 

that end, the NIH has identified a wide range of research topics that focus on the engineering of nanoscale 

structures, processes, and systems as well as other technological innovations (data generation, research 

methods, etc.) to address biomedical challenges. In parallel, the NIH also reissued the Bioengineering 

Nanotechnology Initiative for Small Business Technology Transfer grant applications (PA-09-266) for the 

same purpose.

NIST: NIST’s mission to develop measurement technologies in support of technology transfer includes 

significant nanotechnology investments. New examples include standard reference materials to enable 

nanoscale mapping of deformation, strain, and stress to ensure performance and mechanical reliability of 

products manufactured from nanostructured materials; and RM 8820, a new lithographically produced 

dimensional metrology calibration standard useful for calibrating scanning electron, scanning probe, and 

optical microscopes.

NRO: NRO-supported R&D for nanotechnology in electronics, structural materials, and power 

generation and energy storage devices pursues dual-use deliveries to entice commercial interest at the 

earliest stages. NRO transition goals aim to create commercial “pull” to enable rapid establishment of 

domestic 21st century manufacturing and to rapidly reduce product cost. CNT electronics developments 

are monitored by data storage vendors and data center manufacturers; the low-power-consumption and 

low-heat-production nature of CNT electronics will usher in a new paradigm for space and terrestrial data 

processing applications. 

NSF: Ongoing and planned new activities in support of Goal 2 include the following:

• Strengthen the contribution of translational innovation programs from fundamental research, 

including in Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI), Partnerships for 

Innovation (PFI) , and Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) 

• Partnership with small businesses and large companies in the United States for projects on 

fundamental research with long-term goals of interest to industry

• Co-sponsor workshops on research directions together with industrial partners

• Increase focus on energy, cyber-physical systems, and synthetic biology research and education

Coordinated Activities with Other Agencies and Other Institutions Contributing to Goal 2

NNI member agencies and international standards bodies: Technical experts from multiple agencies, 

including DOD, DOE, EPA, NIOSH, NCI, NIST, and USDA/FS, are working to develop international 

documentary standards in nanotechnology through the International Organization for Standardization

(ISO), as coordinated by the American National Standards Institute’s U.S. Technical Advisory Group to 

ISO TC229 (Nanotechnologies). The Federal agencies’ Interagency Committee on Standards Policy 

(ICSP), chaired by NIST, provides an additional forum for information exchange and coordination on 

standards policy issues relating to nanotechnology. NNI agencies are also participating in standards 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 35

development activities within ASTM International’s Committee E56 (Nanotechnology), the International 

Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee 113 (Nanotechnology Standardization for Electrical 

and Electronics Products and Systems), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ 

Nanotechnology Council in developing nanotechnology-related documentary standards. This close 

cooperation with the American National Standards Institute helps NNI member agencies provide input 

reflecting U.S. priorities in the international standards arena. 

NNI member agencies, OECD: The Department of State chaired the OECD Working Party on 

Nanotechnology (WPN) to advise on emerging policy issues in science, technology, and innovation 

related to the responsible development and use of nanotechnology. The WPN is assessing business 

environments, international research collaboration and coordination, available indicators and statistics, 

and approaches to public engagement. 

NIH and IEEE: The NIH in conjunction with the IEEE Society sponsored a nanomedicine workshop in 

April 2009 that outlined ongoing research in nanotechnology and industrial applications of nanomedicine.

NIST, VAMAS: NIST led the establishment of the ten-nation Nanoparticle Populations Working Group 

in the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS). The group will develop an 

international consensus in measurement methods as a precursor to documentary standards development, 

with an initial focus on single-walled carbon nanotube chirality measurements.

NIST, NIH-NCI, FDA: These agencies are collaborating to develop reference materials and relevant 

measurement protocols for biomedical applications.

NRO, DOE, industry: 2011 will usher in CNT wire testing by Boeing, Tyco Electronics, Northrop 

Grumman, and Lockheed Martin. Oak Ridge National Laboratory has requested a 12-foot-long, oneinch-diameter cable for high voltage testing; such a cable offers an extraordinarily efficient means to 

transport power throughout the country. 

NRO, A123 Systems: The carbon nanotube battery storage R&D team includes A123 Systems; success in 

CNT-based batteries offers a potential for 3-to 6-fold improvement in battery technology for electric cars

and spacecraft. 

NSF and other NNI agencies: The NSET Subcommittee’s Nanomanufacturing, Industry Liaison, and 

Innovation (NILI) Working Group planned and conducted a workshop on Regional, State, and Local 

Initiatives in Nanotechnology on April 1–3, 2009. A report of the workshop is planned to be published in

2010. 

NSF, NIST, and the semiconductor/electronics industry: NSF and NIST are continuing to work jointly 

with universities and a consortium of companies in the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the 

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) on activities to support the Nanoelectronics Research 

Initiative (NRI) with the goal of demonstrating novel computing devices capable of replacing the 

complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistor as a logic switch in the 2020 timeframe. 

R&D activities are taking place at multi-university centers and at NSF nanoscience centers, including the

Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers, Network for Computational Nanotechnology hubs, 

and Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSECs). 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

36 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Goal 3: Develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the 

supporting infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology

Significant progress is being made on all three aspects of Goal 3. With respect to education and workforce 

development, education is among the chief objectives of NNI-funded university research. In addition, 

specific programs targeted at K–16 education, educating the public about nanotechnology, and improving 

nanotechnology curricula in U.S. schools and universities have been initiated and are growing in scale and 

reach. Details are provided in the following text. The extensive network of research centers, user facilities, 

and other infrastructure for nanotechnology research, which was a key element of the original NNI 

strategy, is now largely complete.6

Individual Agency Contributions to Goal 3

DOD: An instrument is being developed that combines the imaging capability of scanning probe 

microscopy with the nanomechanical measurement capabilities of instrumented indentation to create a 

capability to image variations of mechanical properties and topography within a test specimen. This tool 

will enable researchers to probe the mechanisms that determine responses of nanocomposites to stress at 

the appropriate length scales, ultimately guiding the design of more efficient structural composites for 

realistic naval applications.

FDA: In support of Goal 3, FDA plans to increase nanotechnology laboratory testing capacity at its 

campus in Maryland, and its National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR)/Office of Regulatory 

Affairs (ORA) facility in Arkansas, to assess nanotechnology products and their safety. These resources will 

allow assessment and safety research in support of regulatory decision making. Top-tier priorities will 

consist of developing: 

• Testing methods to assess the safety of products that use nanomaterials (including their stability and

interaction with biological systems)

• Testing methods to assess the quality and effectiveness of products that use nanomaterials

• Standards to be incorporated in the preclinical safety assessment of products that contain 

nanomaterials

In addition, FDA will establish a scientific staff development and training program in nanotechnology. 

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field requiring expertise in pharmacology, materials science, 

biology, physics, chemistry, medicine, and toxicology. With the funds requested, FDA will establish a 

program to train review staff to adequately evaluate the scientific data submitted in support of 

nanotechnology-containing product regulatory applications. This will include:

• Cooperative training and research work in nanotechnology at national laboratories, governmentsponsored research centers, and the Nanotechnology Collaborative Opportunities for Research 

Excellence (CORE) grants program, described below in the subsection on Goal 4 coordinated 

activities

• Information exchange and coordination with international regulatory agencies to enable science-based 

harmonization and sharing of regulatory information and decision processes regarding 

nanotechnology

• Strengthening FDA nanotechnology scientific training and expertise

 

6 See a detailed discussion of the U.S. NNI infrastructure in the NNI Supplement to the President’s FY 2008 Budget, http://www.nano.gov/NNI_08Budget.pdf, including a map that shows the location of all the centers, networks, and user facilities 

(p. 21) and a list of participating academic institutions and national laboratories (pp. 29–33).
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 37

NIH: The National Cancer Institute’s Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer issued administrative 

supplements to Cancer Nanotechnology Centers of Excellence under the ARRA totaling $4 million. The 

supplements will be used to maintain and enhance the student and post-doctoral workforce within the 

centers.

The Nanomedicine Common Fund Initiative includes a strong training component for graduate students 

and postdoctoral fellows through webinars, postdoctoral exchanges among labs, and trainee sessions at 

annual meetings. In addition, the NIH Office of the Director provided ARRA funding to support 

undergraduate and high school students to work in a nanomedicine laboratory and represent the 

University of California San Francisco at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) 

competition.

In April 2009, NIH hosted NanoWeek, a unique series of events revolving around nanotechnology and its 

application to medicine and biomedical research. The events varied, with some broadcasted widely to 

educate the public about basic concepts and their potential applications to diagnosis and treatment of 

disease. Other events included scientific seminars, poster displays, and in-lab demonstrations of cuttingedge research in nanotechnology and nanomedicine geared to promote information exchange among 

scientists, clinicians, and engineers working in these disciplines.

NIST: The NanoFab, NIST’s national nanofabrication and measurement facility, increased the number of 

research participants by 30% in the past year and plans to add over $5 million of new tools in 2010.

In 2009, NIST awarded ARRA-funded contracts totaling $6 million for nanomeasurement tools, and it 

plans to make additional such awards in 2010. Also using ARRA funds, NIST awarded $34.3 million in 

2010 to support construction of nanoscience facilities at U.S. universities.

NSF: NSF plans to expand the outreach of the National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and 

Career Knowledge (NACK, main node at The Pennsylvania State University) to other educational clusters 

and states in the United States. 

Coordinated Activities with Other Agencies and Institutions Contributing to Goal 3

DOD: The Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center is collaborating and 

leveraging multiple nanotechnology programs with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Army 

Research Laboratory (ARL), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to broaden subject matter 

expertise and utilize specialized laboratories and equipment.

NIH, UC San Diego: The NCI is participating in webinars sponsored by the University of California San 

Diego. The aim of the webinars is to bring knowledge on medical nanotechnology to academics, 

physicians, and industrial researchers in the United States and abroad.

NIST, universities, industry: Through ARRA fellowship programs beginning in 2010, NIST will provide 

opportunities for students, faculty, and industrial researchers to interact with NIST scientists and conduct 

nanotechnology research in NIST laboratories

NIST, DOE: NIST state-of-the-art X-ray detectors, including an imaging microscope developed through 

the NIST SBIR program and procured with ARRA funds, have enabled NIST to expand its suite of 

world-class synchrotron instruments at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National 

Laboratory. These nanocharacterization instruments, accessible to the scientific community through the 

DOE User Program, have enabled collaborators from industry to develop advanced materials and devices, 

including next-generation catalysts.
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

38 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

NRO, national labs, universities, industry: The NRO nanotechnology R&D portfolio is aimed at rapidly 

developing and establishing a 21st century nanotechnology manufacturing base in the United States. The 

R&D team includes 22 companies, 2 Government labs, and 19 universities.

NSF, DOE, and DOD: NSF's Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network and related 

projects will continue to provide shared knowledge, resources, and networking for educational activities 

with DOE and DOD in formal and informal settings.

NSF with DOE (Sandia National Laboratories), NIST, DOD, and NIH: These agencies are 

coordinating joint student fellowship programs in various areas of nanotechnology.

USDA/NIFA, DOE, and Canada: Following the successful joint grantees’ meeting with Canada’s 

Advanced Food and Materials Network (AFMNet) held in conjunction with the DOE Center for 

Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) Nanotechnology User Conference in September 2009 in Santa Fe, 

New Mexico, USDA/NIFA is planning for a Fall 2010 nanotechnology grantees’ meeting with AFMNet 

and Canada’s National Institute for Nanotechnology.

Goal 4: Support responsible development of nanotechnology

The NNI has made significant progress towards the goal of supporting responsible development of 

nanotechnology. Funding for nanotechnology-related EHS research continues to increase at a rate far in 

excess of the overall NNI budget growth rate, from $35 million in 2005 to $117 million in the 2011 

request. This is only counting the narrowly defined primary purpose EHS R&D. The NNI agencies have 

reached a strong consensus on a comprehensive strategy to move these investments forward effectively, in 

line with the roles and responsibilities of the respective agencies involved. The NNI also maintains a 

strong portfolio of research on ethical, legal, and other societal implications of nanotechnology, along with 

support for innovative approaches to nanotechnology education at all levels, from K-12 though graduate 

education and public outreach.

Individual Agency Contributions to Goal 4

DOD: Although no major changes in DOD investment are expected among the four NNI goals, 

increased focus and coordination on responsible development of nanotechnology will continue to be a 

growing area of DOD emphasis as applications and manufacturing processes mature. Examples of 

emphasis and progress in DOD efforts within Goal 4 follow:

• Basic research has created a class of amplifying fluorescent polymers that detect hazardous substances 

with extremely high sensitivity. In the same research area, a family of nano-engineered, self-segregating 

additives has been developed that have the ability to transport active materials to the polymer/air 

interface to self-detoxify contaminated coatings.

• Nanoscale platforms are being developed to enable DNA cloning without the use of cells. A related 

program uses nanoscale polymerase chain reaction (nano-PCR) with a focus on ultrasensitive, rapid, 

high-fidelity identification of natural or genetically engineered pathogen strains. These programs will 

have sensitivities three orders of magnitude better than conventional PCR, permitting single-molecule 

amplification from complex, for instance, “dirty,” environmental samples.

EPA: In support of its Nanomaterial Research Strategy, EPA has initiated a research program to 

understand which nanomaterials are most likely to enter the environment and how they move and 

transform within environmental media. This information will help the agency focus its human health and 

ecological effects research on those nanomaterials and pathways with the most potential for harmful 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 39

human exposure. The program continues to generate results. For example, STAR researchers at Carnegie 

Mellon University modified iron oxide nanoparticles to enable them to quickly and easily clean up 

trichloroethylene, a common groundwater contaminant. Using various cellular models, researchers in 

EPA’s own laboratories have examined the in vitro pulmonary toxicity of carbon nanotubes as well as the 

neurological toxicity of nanoscale titanium dioxide.

FDA: The emerging nature of the science and the potential for rapid development of applications for 

FDA-regulated products highlights the need for timely development of transparent, consistent, and sound 

regulatory and scientific evaluation pathways. For 2009, 2010, and 2011, FDA is conducting activities 

that support the following FDA-wide priorities: (1) build laboratory and product testing capacity, 

(2) enable scientific staff development and training, and (3) engage in collaborative and interdisciplinary 

research to address product characterization and safety. Together, these priorities will better enable FDA to 

support the responsible development of nanotechnology. 

NIH/NIEHS: NIEHS has assembled a network of extramural researchers to identify reliable and 

reproducible assays and methods to assess the biological response to and potential hazard of nanomaterials. 

Assays under consideration include analysis of cellular functions, immunotoxicity, and genotoxicity. Other 

projects will examine the utility of proteomics and other data-intensive assays in assessing biological 

behavior of nanomaterials.

NIOSH: NIOSH received an increase in funding for 2010 in nanotechnology-related environmental, 

health, and safety research (PCA 7 and Goal 4) as a result of specific language included in the President's 

Supplemental Budget Request. These funds will provide direct support to an increase in NIOSH's 

investigations specific to evaluating the potential hazards of select nanomaterials, assessing human 

exposures in workplaces and associated potential health risks, evaluating controls and risk management 

practices for safe handling of nanomaterials, and developing guidance on medical screening and evaluation 

of workers. Specifically, NIOSH will accelerate its activities in the area of risk assessment for carbon 

nanotubes; develop improved methods to detect and measure select nanomaterials that are being 

commercialized in high volume, such as nanotubes and metal oxides; evaluate the effectiveness of 

respiratory protection; and begin to quantitatively evaluate engineering controls for the mitigation of 

human exposures and environmental releases.

NIST: NIST is developing measurement protocols and analysis methods needed to assess airborne 

nanoparticle concentrations and exposures. This work will support efforts to measure airborne levels of 

nanoparticles in research settings for use in safety evaluations as well as in studies of consumer products 

that may release nanoparticles into the air. 

NIST is developing measurement methodologies and associated models for determining dynamic physicochemical and toxicological properties of key nanomaterials in relevant media (e.g., air, water, soil, and 

biological matrices) and in release of these nanomaterials during manufacturing processes and from 

products throughout full product life cycles. Dynamic physico-chemical property measurements of 

nanomaterials will focus on changes in nanomaterial surface attributes (area, composition, morphology, 

and charge), transformation processes (e.g., aggregation, dissolution, electron transfer), transport, and fate.

Toxicological property measurements will focus on genotoxicity and mechanistic cytotoxicity assays, as 

indicated by biomarkers and other indicators of toxicological response. 

In 2010 and 2011 NIST plans to release important reference materials needed for uniform assessment of 

nanomaterials EHS, including carbon nanotubes and titanium dioxide nanoparticles. 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

40 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

NRO: Nanotechnology R&D in electronics, structural materials, and power generation and energy storage 

devices are conducted in plants complying with current EPA regulations. Researchers are working with the 

EPA to help establish improved procedures and rules to protect the health of workers handling 

nanotechnology substances. 

NSF: New efforts by NSF toward Goal 4 are to focus on implications of the next generations of 

nanotechnology products and productive processes, as well as public participation in nanotechnologyrelated activities, at the NSECs on societal dimensions at Arizona State University and the University of 

California Santa Barbara.

USDA/NIFA: The NIFA Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Program (within 

AFRI) supports competitive grants to assess and analyze the perceptions and acceptance of nanotechnology 

applications to food and agriculture and nanotechnology-based products by the general public, agriculture 

producers and processing industry, and other stakeholders, using appropriate social science tools. This 

effort started in 2008 and has funded three projects. One of them was awarded to Cornell University, 

which has produced six “radio blast” pieces for the EarthSky program through interviewing experts about 

nanotechnology applications and implications for agriculture and food systems. The program is estimated 

to reach audiences of more than 14 million in the United States and other countries. Another grant 

funded a research project at the Michigan State University to address public perceptions of emerging 

applications of nanotechnologies in food and agricultural production, titled “Public Perceptions of 

Agrifood Nanotechnologies: Using Extension to Assess and Link Stakeholder Knowledge with Public 

Policies.” The project seeks to develop within the Cooperative Extension System the capacity to train 

extension educators on (1) what nanotechnologies are and what their current and emerging applications 

are throughout the agrifood system, so that extension agents can speak knowledgeably about these matters 

with their clientele; and (2) develop in the agents the social science research skills for documenting key 

public perceptions as revealed through extension agent-client interaction, and for translating/transferring 

this information to agrifood policy organizations through delivery systems that increase the likelihood of 

the information being used. The long-term goal of this project is to inform and enhance socially 

responsive policies for agrifood nanotechnologies at national, state, and population-specific levels. 

Coordinated Activities with other Agencies and Institutions Contributing to Goal 4 

NNI member agencies, OECD: The DOS has chaired the OECD WPN to advise on emerging policy 

issues in science, technology, and innovation related to the responsible development and use of 

nanotechnology. EPA has chaired the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN), 

which is leading an international effort by the 30 OECD member nations and other nonmember nations 

and organizations to coordinate and collaborate on approaches for better understanding the 

environmental, health, and safety impacts and the benefits of nanotechnology. In 2008, the WPMN 

embarked on a cooperative international program to conduct testing on 14 nanomaterials types across 59 

environmental endpoints. The EPA is leading the U.S. effort to sponsor the testing of many of these 

materials.

CPSC, NIOSH, EPA: In 2010, CPSC will establish interagency agreements with NIOSH and EPA to 

complete a literature search and develop experimental procedures using scientifically credible protocols to 

quantify releases of and consumer exposures to nanosilver in treated consumer products. Special emphasis 

will be placed on exposures to young children.

CPSC, EPA, NIEHS, NIST, NNI, NIOSH: The NNI held 3 workshops in calendar year 2009 to review 

and update the critical research needs that are explicated in the NNI Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 41

Environmental, Health, and Safety research. In February, NIOSH led a workshop focusing on human and 

environmental exposure assessment research needs, hosted by CPSC. NIST and EPA led the October 

workshop on nanomaterials in the environment and related instrumentation, metrology, and analytical 

methods needs. NIEHS and NIST led the November workshop on research to understand human health 

implications and the instrumentation, metrology, and analytical methods needed to achieve that 

understanding. The workshops were planned by representatives of industry, academia, the public health 

sector, and government. Nearly 200 people participated in each workshop. The results of the workshops 

will be compiled into reports that will inform the next iteration of the NNI EHS strategy. (For more 

details on these workshops see http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/humanhealth/Series.html.) 

DOD: The Army Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center is currently collaborating with 

the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on multiple efforts for weaponry safety and insensitive munitions 

utilizing nanomaterial-based propellants and developing radiation and temperature nanosensors that offer 

high performance in extremely harsh environments. AMRDEC is also collaborating with MDA on 

research for weaponry life extension by developing carbon-fiber composites based on a nanoparticle 

polymer system in which self-healing and morphing properties restore damaged surfaces to their original 

condition. 

EPA, NSF, USDA/NIFA, EC: EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), the National 

Science Foundation, and USDA’s NIFA will make awards in 2010 through a joint solicitation entitled, 

“Increasing Scientific Data on the Fate, Transport, and Behavior of Engineered Nanomaterials in Selected 

Environmental and Biological Matrices.” This solicitation is a collaborative effort with the European 

Commission. The total estimated U.S. award amount is approximately $4.2 million. 

EPA, NSF, NIH/NIEHS, NIOSH, and DOE: Since 2004 EPA’s STAR grants program has coordinated 

interagency requests for applications; agencies involved have included NSF, NIEHS, NIOSH, and DOE. 

The fourth joint research solicitation by EPA’s STAR program was issued in 2007. The solicitation was a 

collaboration between EPA, NSF, and DOE; over 130 research proposals were received. EPA awarded 15 

grants, NSF awarded 6 grants, and DOE awarded 1 grant and made several awards to DOE laboratories. 

Individual grant awards totaled approximately $9 million. In addition, EPA recently awarded $2 million 

to study fate and transport in biological systems as part of an NIEHS-led request for applications.

EPA, NSF, NIH/NIEHS, NIOSH, USDA/NIFA, and EC: EPA is leading another interagency 

solicitation with NSF, NIH/NIEHS, NIOSH, and USDA/NIFA, all in coordination with the European 

Commission, focused on exposure and safety research data for engineered nanomaterials.

EPA, United Kingdom: EPA’s NCER under its STAR research program will also fund two research 

“e-consortia” teams, each at $2 million for a 4-year period, in collaboration with two research consortia 

teams from the United Kingdom, on the topics, “Consortium for Manufactured Nanomaterial 

Bioavailability & Environmental Exposure” and “Transatlantic Initiative for Nanotechnology and the 

Environment.”

FDA, other agencies, and universities: There are many classes of products where the FDA is currently the 

only agency to conduct research essential for science-based safety and/or risk assessments. While the 

agency can undertake some self-initiated research, the scale and range of issues and expertise involved 

necessitate collaborations with academic and government laboratories. Therefore, FDA will establish a 

CORE program to foster collaborative and interdisciplinary research addressing product characterization 

and safety. The nanotechnology CORE program will support peer-reviewed research at FDA and in 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

42 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 

collaboration with academia through grant mechanisms or other approaches. The CORE program will 

focus on: 

 Measurement and detection methods for nanomaterials in FDA-regulated products 

 Effects of specific nanomaterial characteristics, such as surface charge, shape, size, and composition, on 

particle behavior (e.g., distribution in the body) and biological outcomes (e.g., both beneficial effects 

and toxicities) 

 Strategies to better predict, assess, and mitigate potential human health risks

NIH/NIEHS, NIST, NIH/NCI, FDA, NIOSH, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, 

and ASTM International: The NIH/NIEHS in collaboration with NIST held a workshop on Enabling 

Standards for Nanomaterial Characterization on October 8–9, 2008. The goal was to address the urgent 

need to accelerate standards development at the pre-standards stage. Sponsors and contributors include the 

National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration, Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory at NCI-Frederick, National Institute of 

Occupational Safety and Health, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, and ASTM 

International. 

NIH/NCI, NIH/NIEHS, NIH/NIBIB, and NIST: NIH/NCI and NIEHS held a one-day workshop at 

NIST on October 10, 2008, to establish an International Collaboration for NanoEHS Informatics aimed 

at developing a federated database system. The Collaboration seeks to establish a global resource of 

knowledge on nanomaterial characteristics and their biological interactions that can be systematically 

queried from multiple sites within an interoperable, federated system of databases. Follow-up discussions 

between NIBIB and NIEHS are underway to define possible venues to address these and related 

nanobioinformatic needs of the community (NanoHealth Enterprise). 

NIH/NIEHS, EPA, and University of Massachusetts: These institutions and other academicians cosponsored the International Conference on the Environmental Implications and Applications of 

Nanotechnology in June 2009 in Amherst, MA. The conference aim was to provide a valuable forum for 

scientists, regulators, and policymakers from academia, government, and industry to interact and share 

new knowledge on the health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology, green nanotechnology, and 

new environmental applications, and to help direct future research and regulatory needs. The conference 

discussed global health and safety issues surrounding engineered nanoparticles and nanotechnologies, 

especially in connection with occupational and environmental health, and provided insights into the latest 

research results and actions to assure the safety and thereby the future success of nanotechnologies. 

NIH, Peoples Republic of China: International coordination of materials characterization and its 

standardization was a subject of a discussion at the “First Joint U.S.-China Symposium on Nanobiology 

and Nanomedicine” in Beijing, Peoples Republic of China, October 20–22, 2008 (see p. 31 for additional 

details). 

NIOSH, all other NEHI member agencies: NIOSH led the organizing committee within the 

Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications Working Group to organize the NNI Health 

and Environmental Exposure Assessment workshop that took place February 24–25, 2009. The workshop 

aimed to provide an open forum to facilitate effective communication among stakeholders about progress 

achieved in the human and environmental exposure assessment research category and about the path 

forward for addressing research needs in this category. 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 43

NIOSH, OECD: NIOSH will continue its leadership role in the OECD WPMN steering group on 

Cooperation on Exposure Measurement and Exposure Mitigation. Within this activity NIOSH is leading 

the development of globally harmonized protocols for nanomaterial emission assessment, guidance for the 

use of personal protective equipment, and guidance for the use of engineering controls. NIOSH will also 

continue conducting experiments and contributing data for carbon nanotubes and nanostructured 

titanium dioxide (TiO2), silver (Ag), and cerium dioxide (CeO2) to the OECD WPMN sponsorship 

program for safety testing of nanomaterials. 

NIOSH, World Health Organization (WHO): NIOSH will continue developing and disseminating best 

practices globally for working with nanomaterials in collaborations with occupational safety and health 

institutions and coordinating activities led by WHO collaborating centers in the nanotechnology area.

NIOSH, International Alliance for NanoEHS Harmonization (IANH): NIOSH will participate in the 

IANH round-robin testing of toxicological techniques to ensure their reproducibility and to facilitate 

development of globally harmonized approaches to safety testing. 

NIOSH, ICON: NIOSH will continue active participation in the International Council on 

Nanotechnology’s “Nano Good Practices Wiki” project, which aims to develop and maintain global best 

occupational practices for the safe handling of nanomaterials, utilizing a collaborative wiki software 

platform. 

NIOSH, CPSC: Under an interagency agreement signed in 2008, NIOSH collaborates with the 

Consumer Product Safety Commission on studying exposure potential resulting from use of selected spray 

applications utilizing nanomaterials. 

NIOSH, CPSC: In 2010, under an IAG between CPSC and NIOSH, NIOSH will conduct testing to 

determine the exposure impact of bathroom spray that contains engineered nanomaterials. 

NIST, DOD: NIST and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers co-organized a nanosilver workshop in March 

2009 to identify the most pressing measurements and standards needs, including the selection of potential 

forms of nanosilver for international interlaboratory studies on nanosilver properties and stability.

NIST, CPSC: NIST is leading a coordinated research program with the Consumer Product Safety 

Commission to determine the release of nanoparticle flame retardants from fabrics and foams.

NIST, FDA, and EPA: These agencies are coordinating the development of benchmark data, 

measurement methods, and prototype reference materials for nanosilver for biomedical applications, 

including EHS assessments.

NSF, EPA: To ensure that nanotechnology is developed in a responsible manner, the National Science 

Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency continue to fund (over five years, starting in 

September 2008) two Centers for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN). The 

CEINs are an important addition to the NNI and will build on NSF's Center for Biological and 

Environmental Technologies (CBET) and EPA’s STAR grants on nanotechnology. Led by the University 

of California Los Angeles and Duke University, the CEINs will study how nanomaterials interact with the 

environment and human health, resulting in better risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies. Each 

center works as a network, connected to multiple research organizations, industry, and government 

agencies, and emphasizes interdisciplinary research and education. 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

44 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

External Reviews of the NNI

Public Law 108-153 calls for periodic external reviews of the NNI by the National Nanotechnology 

Advisory Panel and by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies. 

Review by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Designated as 

the National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel (PCAST/NNAP)

The most recent review of the NNI by the PCAST/NNAP was released in April 2008 (available online at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST-NNAP-NNI-Assessment-2008.pdf). 

The following is a list of the recommendations of this report, and the NNI responses to each of them:

1. Infrastructure, Management, and Coordination

• 1.1.Ensure continuing support from NNI member agencies and from Congress for NNI 

multidisciplinary centers, networks, and user facilities for nanoscale research. The NNI infrastructure of 

user facilities, centers, and networks is an unparalleled resource for the nanotechnology R&D community, 

but it requires sufficient funding to maintain and operate. Having had the foresight to establish these 

centers, DOE, NSF, NIH, and NIST should provide ongoing strong support for these vital assets. In 

particular, NSF and NIH should continue to fund large centers and collaborative research groups that 

enable the multidisciplinary approaches that are essential to advances in basic nanotechnology research. Such 

multidisciplinary research remains especially vital because many applications will emerge from research at 

the convergence of historically disparate fields of science and technology. The NNI should continue to foster 

both “curiosity-driven” researchers and “applications-driven” developers, and their interaction. [pp. 31–32] 

- The funding for PCA 6 on major research facilities and instrumentation acquisition has remained 

steady over the last seven years with a small increase in 2010. However, contrary to this 

recommendation, some agencies are not sustaining all of their investments in multidisciplinary 

research centers. For example, several directorates at NSF are de-emphasizing support for NSF’s 

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers, and NSF has discontinued support for its Nanoscale 

Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT) awards.

- NHLBI and NCI have released solicitations to renew their multidisciplinary centers in 2010 

funded through the Programs of Excellence in Nanotechnology and Cancer Centers of 

Nanotechnology Excellence programs, respectively. NIH also continues to support large 

multidisciplinary research groups under the Nanomedicine Common Fund Initiative, and the 

Bioengineering Research Partnerships, several of which are in the nanotechnology area.

- ARRA funding made available in 2009 has been used in part to upgrade equipment at NSF and 

DOE user facilities.

- NNI “signature initiatives” proposed for 2011 and beyond (see sidebar at the end of Section 1 of 

this document) will help improve the balance between “curiosity-driven” and “applicationsdriven” research funded under the NNI auspices.

• 1.2.Seek to improve intra-agency coordination. Due to the scope and breadth of nanotechnology’s impact, 

the NNAP recommends that each department and agency with numerous operating divisions impacted by 

nanotechnology (including DOC, DOD, EPA, HHS, and USDA) establish a cross-cutting task force or 

some similar mechanism to coordinate and optimize nanotechnology activities and policies more uniformly 

within the agency as a whole. Where such groups already exist, they should be supported at all levels and 

should be strengthened horizontally and vertically within the agency. The FDA’s Nanotechnology Task 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 45

Force, which incorporates representation from each of its centers, is a notable example. These intra-agency 

groups, which should include policy, communications, and budget specialists, will foster improved 

communication within the agency, across the Federal Government, and with outside stakeholders and 

agency customers. [p. 32]

- In addition to FDA, agencies with active internal nanotechnology coordinating groups that have 

been reported are DOD, EPA, NIH, and NSF. 

- The NNCO and the NSET Subcommittee have also been strongly encouraging agencies to 

establish nanotechnology portal websites that point to all nanotechnology-related activities within 

the respective agencies. Agencies with nanotechnology portal websites include DOE, EPA, FDA, 

NASA, NIBIB, NIOSH, NIST, NSF, OSHA, and USDA/NIFA. The NNI website 

(http://www.nano.gov; see About the NNI/Departments and Agencies) points to the portal 

websites that have been established or to the agency’s homepage where there is no nanotechnology 

portal page yet.

• 1.3.Strengthen participation in the NNI by DOC (beyond NIST), DOEd, and DOL in light of their 

respective departmental missions. Interdisciplinary training, broad-based education, workforce 

preparation, market assessment and evaluation, and standards development are critical challenges for 

nanotechnology and are essential for the United States to achieve the expected societal and economic benefits 

of nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization. These needs warrant closer involvement 

from these agencies in the NNI than has existed to date. [p. 32]

- Work continues on broadening participation from the agencies PCAST identified, but their 

participation has already expanded. Within DOC, the NSET Subcommittee and its working 

groups have had active participants from the Economics and Statistics Administration, the Bureau 

of Industry and Security (covering export control issues), and the International Trade 

Administration, in addition to NIST’s strong participation. The subcommittee also includes 

active representation from the Department of Education, which played a strong role in the April 

2009 NNI Workshop on Regional, State, and Local Nanotechnology Initiatives, and which with 

NSF co-sponsored a workshop on nanotechnology education in 2009. The Department of 

Education has one active representative, and the Department of Labor has designated two staff 

members as participants in the NSET Subcommittee. 

• 1.4.Coordinate NSET Subcommittee and working groups activities more broadly with related NSTC 

interagency working groups, especially the Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing R&D, which 

has identified nanomanufacturing as an area of opportunity. [p. 32]

- Before this 2008 PCAST report was prepared, the Manufacturing R&D Interagency Working 

Group co-sponsored a workshop on instrumentation, metrology, and standards for 

nanomanufacturing, in collaboration with the NSET Subcommittee, NIST, NSF, and ONR. 

OSTP is currently evaluating ways to better support advanced manufacturing (including 

nanomanufacturing) and has convened representatives from multiple agencies and interagency 

working groups (including the NSET Subcommittee) to strengthen coordination and initiate 

interagency strategy development.

- The NSET Subcommittee and NNCO have coordinated closely with the Multi-Agency Tissue 

Engineering Science (MATES) Interagency Working Group (IWG). IWG members assisted in 

organizing an NNI workshop on nanobiotechnology, for example. During 2009, the NSET 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

46 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Subcommittee and NNCO worked with MATES IWG members in the development of an NNI

Signature Initiative proposal on nanotechnology for regenerating the human body. 

- NNCO and the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology 

R&D (NCO/NITRD) are co-located; staff members confer on matters of mutual interest on a 

regular basis. There has also been a series of meetings to discuss the intersection between the NNI 

and NITRD, particularly with respect to quantum information science. 

- The chair of the new NSTC Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science (SQIS) has met 

with NCO and NNCO staff several times to discuss the intersections between the three groups. 

The SQIS chair assisted in editing the QIS portion of the proposal for an NNI Signature 

Initiative on Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond (see the sidebar at the end of Section 1).

• 1.5.Continue to function as the central coordination structure for nanotechnology R&D—including 

nanotechnology EHS research. The NSET Subcommittee, its working groups, and the NNCO have been, 

and should continue to be, the locus of coordination for all nanotechnology-related activities. Congress, to 

the extent that it engages these issues, should support the current interagency coordination and management 

structure of the NNI through the NSET Subcommittee and the NNCO. [p. 32]

- The NSET Subcommittee and the NNCO have continued to serve this function, as 

recommended. For example, as discussed in detail earlier in this document, the NSET 

Subcommittee has funded, and the NEHI Working Group has organized, a series of NNI 

workshops in 2009 and 2010 to gather community and stakeholder input on the evolving NNI 

strategy for nanotechnology-related EHS research. Additional workshops are planned for 2010 to 

gather input for the next update of the overall NNI Strategic Plan, due to be completed in 

December 2010. 

2. Standards Development

• 2.1.Participate in the development of voluntary consensus-based standards, which are crucial to 

research, commercialization, and safe handling and use of nanotechnology. The NNI agencies, individually 

and jointly through the NNCO, should participate in and support standards development activities. In 

particular, the NNI should support U.S. participation at key international standards bodies, such as the 

International Organization for Standards (ISO). Through Federal agency participation, the NNI should 

seek to avoid duplication of standards development work at organizations that have overlapping areas of 

activity. [p. 32]

- Before this PCAST report was written, the funding agencies of the NSET Subcommittee voted 

explicitly not to continue to sponsor U.S. participation in ISO TC-229 (“Nanotechnologies”) 

through NNCO financial contributions to ANSI (the only U.S. accredited representative at ISO). 

NNCO did provide some support for the ANSI TAG to ISO TC-229 in the first two years of its 

existence, but that support was discontinued at the end of 2007. Instead, the NSET 

Subcommittee members feel that ANSI should request this support directly from each of the 

member agencies. ANSI has done so, with mixed results so far. However, the subcommittee is 

supporting, particularly through travel funding, the extensive activities of the NNCO Director as 

chair of the ANSI TAG to ISO TC-229. 

- In a similar vein, the NSET Subcommittee provided $125,000 of seed funding to OECD to 

support the establishment of its Working Party on Nanotechnology (WPN), which is addressing a 

broad range of economic development issues associated with nanotechnology. EPA has also 

supported the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN), which is 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 47

addressing EHS issues associated with nanotechnology. The subcommittee’s support for the WPN 

was only a one-time arrangement to help start up the WPN. However, it continues to provide 

support for NNCO staff to attend WPN meetings.

- Reports on ISO and OECD nanotechnology-related activities are scheduled as regular agenda

items at NEHI and GIN working group meetings.

• 2.2.Develop materials and analytical standards for nanotechnology EHS research. Such standards are 

critical to characterizing and monitoring effects of nanomaterials. NIST should lead the development work, 

in consultation and collaboration with agencies that use such standards, including EPA and FDA. The 

initial focus should be on nanomaterials that have or are moving toward broad commercial use (e.g., 

nanoscale gold, silver, metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, and other materials such as those identified in the 

OECD list of fourteen most common nanomaterials in current applications). [p. 32]

- The NSET Subcommittee collaborated with NIST in organizing a Workshop on Material 

Standards for Environmental Health & Safety for Engineered Nanoscale Materials (Sept. 2007, 

just as this PCAST report was being prepared). NNCO has been assisting NIST in preparing the 

report from that workshop for publication.

- As recommended above, NIST has taken the lead in developing standard reference materials for a 

number of nanomaterials now entering commerce, e.g., gold nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes. 

NIST has worked closely with NIH/NCI, EPA, and FDA in developing these materials.

• 2.3.Work towards development of minimum data sets of physical and chemical properties of 

nanomaterials. If properly defined, adoption of a minimum set of data for research on nanomaterials 

would ensure accurate communication of research results and product properties. It would also enable 

comparison and reproducibility of EHS testing. This is essential to ensure that evaluations are meaningful 

and that the assessments of potential EHS impacts are sound. NIST should take a leading role in 

coordinating efforts to this end among the interagency NNI members. [p. 33]

For clarity, the following response pertains to efforts by the NNI member agencies to work with the 

ISO Technical Committee 229 on Nanotechnologies, the OECD Working Party on Manufactured 

Nanomaterials, and the broad EHS research community to come to agreement on a minimum set of 

parameters/properties of nanomaterials for proper characterization of nanomaterials before use in 

toxicological research studies. Without such proper characterization, many early studies of the 

toxicological properties of nanomaterials have led to completely wrong conclusions and inferences.

- This continues to be a critical and largely unmet need. Scientific reviewers and journal editors 

have been particularly reluctant to require such baseline characterizations as a condition for

publication, fostering an avalanche of one-off, non-reproducible studies that offer little clarity on 

nanomaterial EHS implications nor an adequate basis for regulatory decision making. 

- NNI member agencies and the NNCO continue to support work at OECD’s WPMN and at ISO 

Technical Committee on Nanotechnologies’ working group on EHS aspects of nanotechnologies 

to develop such a minimum set of characterization parameters of materials properties for purposes 

of EHS testing.

- The OECD WPMN is now using a generally agreed upon set of 9 nanomaterials properties for 

characterizing 14 nanomaterials in relatively common commercial use. ISO TC 229 Working 

Group 3 also is nearing completion of a Technical Report recommending a similar set of 9 

properties for characterization of nanomaterials for toxicological studies.
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

48 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

3. Technology Transfer and Commercialization

• 3.1.Expand efforts to assess national and international innovation and commercialization activities. 

While the NNAP commends current and ongoing efforts, the NNI—led by DOC—should identify metrics 

and obtain data that will allow accurate assessment of the economic impact of nanotechnology development. 

This will require closer and more coordinated involvement from DOC and continued engagement with 

OECD to obtain better data at the national and international levels. The downstream impact of 

nanotechnology development on the economy remains difficult to quantitatively assess, but market 

projections based on well-defined categories of nanomaterials and devices and specific classes of products will 

allow for some reasonable estimates, if properly qualified. In any case, since so many industries are involved 

in nanotechnology development, it appears clear that nanotechnology will have a large economic impact, 

and continuously monitoring that impact is an important role DOC should play. [p. 33]

- The NSET Subcommittee’s support for OECD/WPN discussed above was motivated by the need 

to expand our understanding of international innovation and commercialization activities. Some

preliminary reports from WPN are now becoming available. A representative from the DOC 

Economic Statistics Administration was initially an active participant in the WPN, and 

representatives from the DOC International Trade Administration have been engaged in the 

NSET Global Issues in Nanotechnology working group since 2009.

- NSF has funded a group at the Georgia Institute of Technology to gather information and analyze 

trends in commercialization of nanotechnology. NSF has also sponsored the National Center for 

Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) to gather information on nanotechnology companies in the 

United States. 

- NNCO has just concluded an arrangement with Lux Research to provide NSET Subcommittee 

members with access to Lux’s data on nanotechnology companies and related information on 

economic impact and commercialization. 

- NNCO also funds the Asian Technology Information Program (ATIP) to gather information on 

nanotechnology R&D and commercialization activities in Asia.

- NSF has just initiated a World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) international 

benchmarking study on nanotechnology. Several other NSET Subcommittee member agencies 

may also contribute to the study. Preliminary results from the study should be available in late 

2010. 

• 3.2.Continue to build connections across the innovation ecosystem, including requiring that 

multidisciplinary centers partner with industry or with economic development organizations. NSF, NIH, 

and other major supporters of multidisciplinary nanotechnology-focused centers should explicitly support, 

maintain, and strengthen cross-sector linkages. [p. 33]

- As documented elsewhere in this report, NNI agencies have strong collaborations with several key 

industries that view nanotechnology as key to their future, including the semiconductor industry, 

the chemical industry, and the forest products industry. Efforts to establish similar connections 

with other industries are continuing. 

- Agencies have required that proposals for interdisciplinary research centers funded under the NNI 

demonstrate strong industry partnerships. For example, NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in 

Cancer centers have been required since their inception in 2005 to collaborate with industry. The 

centers, based at universities, have been very active in forming start-up companies dedicated to the 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 49

clinical translation and commercialization of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics based on 

nanotechnology. Overall, 34 companies were formed since the inception of the program (2005), 

and 250 patent disclosures were issued or filed to cover intellectual property of these technologies.

- The NSET Subcommittee and several of its member agencies are continuing to sponsor technical 

workshops covering topics that are of interest across multiple industrial sectors. For example, in 

May 2008, NIST and USDA/FS sponsored an NNI-affiliated workshop on cross-industry issues 

in nanomanufacturing.

- The NSET working group on Nanomanufacturing, Industrial Liaison, and Innovation (NILI) 

continues its work reaching out to regional, state, and locally-based initiatives and to specific 

industry sectors, including electronics, chemicals, and forest products, through its Consultative 

Boards for Advancing Nanotechnology.

• 3.3.Educate more scientists and engineers to become entrepreneurs and skilled technology workers. 

Transfer of know-how and ideas from university labs to products and processes with commercial value and 

public benefit occurs primarily through college and university education and research activities. Funding 

world-class research is the best “training program” for top-notch nanoscale scientists and engineers. The NSF 

Integrative Graduate Education Research and Traineeship (IGERT) program is a notable model in this 

regard, particularly with respect to interdisciplinary nanotechnology training and R&D. [p. 33]

- Earlier sections of this report discuss a number of activities aimed at the issues discussed in this 

recommendation. See Section 4 of this report, particularly activities described there relating to 

Goal 2 (foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefit) 

and Goal 3 (develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the supporting 

infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology). 

4. Environmental, Health, and Safety Implications

• 4.1.Coordinate the nanotechnology EHS strategy with industry and international stakeholders. EHS 

research is noncompetitive; therefore, the NNI should coordinate efforts in this area with the activities of 

industry and other countries so as to avoid duplication and to leverage investments. NNI member agencies 

should work centrally through the NNCO and/or consensus lead agencies designated in the NNI 

nanotechnology EHS research strategy to coordinate their respective research activities with other relevant 

entities. [p. 33]

- The current (2009/2010) NNI series of EHS workshops are specifically designed to engage 

stakeholders from all sectors, including industry and international organizations, to gather input 

on the U.S. strategy for nanotechnology-related EHS research and regulatory activities. The 

planning teams for each of the workshops conducted in late 2009 and early 2010 include equal 

participation from industry, non-governmental organizations, universities, and U.S. Government 

agencies.

- The OECD/WPMN is aimed at improving international coordination in EHS research and 

policy development. For example, WPMN is organizing an international collaboration to conduct 

a series of standard characterization tests on nanomaterials currently in commerce or expected to 

be in commerce soon.

- ISO TC-229 includes a Working Group 3 on EHS aspects of nanotechnology. This is another 

appropriate forum for coordinating EHS activities internationally.
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

50 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

• 4.2.Do not segregate implications research and applications research. In many instances, nanotechnology 

EHS research cannot be separated from the particular application(s) research and from the context for which 

a specific nanomaterial is intended. Such division is unproductive and neglects the whole benefit of research. 

Consequently, the NNAP expects that a substantial fraction of nanotechnology research related to EHS will 

continue to take place under the auspices of agencies that fund applications R&D and may not be uniquely 

or exclusively identified as nanotechnology EHS research. Risk research that is performed independent of 

applications development should nevertheless be carried out with consideration of overall risks and benefits 

associated with the particular material or technology. Furthermore, detailed reporting on the degree of 

relevance to EHS of such research is not necessarily critical to (and may actually hinder) overall 

prioritization and coordination. [p. 34]

- The NNI participating agencies have been criticized (e.g., from the most recent National 

Academies review of the NNI) for linking implications research to applications research. The 

December 2008 National Academies Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology report 

dismissed a number of the EHS projects reported in the Feb. 2008 NNI EHS strategy document 

as “not explicitly associated with risk...” (p. 7) and also claimed that EHS research funding figures 

published by the NNI are overstated because they included projects not directly relevant to 

nanotoxicology. However, only a small proportion of the funding for NIH projects listed in the 

2006 snapshot of NNI EHS projects (included as an appendix to the Feb. 2008 NNI EHS 

strategy document) was actually counted by the NNI as EHS funding; the remainder was reported 

in other PCAs appropriate to the health-related applications that those projects are targeting. This 

is precisely consistent with the 2008 PCAST report recommendation. Virtually every NIH health 

applications project includes as an integral component some research to make sure that the 

diagnostic and therapeutic applications being developed are not only effective but are also safe.

• 4.3.Continue developing joint programs among NNI agencies that leverage expertise and resources to 

conduct nanotechnology EHS research and to support agency missions. The NNI member agencies 

should proactively seek to collaborate on priority EHS research, where appropriate, in order to expedite 

progress and take advantage of competency and knowledge that is distributed across the Federal 

Government. [p. 34]

- The NNI participating agencies have collaborated on a number of joint interagency efforts to 

organize and fund EHS workshops listed under the Coordinated Activities section of Goal 4 in 

this report.

- The NNI participating agencies have funded a series of joint interagency solicitations for 

nanotechnology-related EHS research in recent years. The agency participation and research foci 

of these solicitations continue to evolve. Examples include the NSF-EPA Centers for 

Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology. 

• 4.4.Support wide distribution and availability of new nonproprietary information about the 

properties of nanomaterials. Such information should include methods for risk/benefit analysis that can be 

implemented by researchers, as well as by developers and manufacturers. [p. 34]

- NIST continues work assessing the physico-chemical properties of key nanomaterials and 

developing standard reference materials. NCI’s Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory 

(NCL) also provides this kind of information about nanomaterials being considered for use in 

clinical applications, with nearly 160 nanoparticles in its assay cascade of physical, in vitro, and in 

vivo characterization. (Data and recommended assays by material type are available at 

http://ncl.cancer.gov.) As indicated earlier, EPA continues its leadership of the international 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 51

project in OECD’s WPMN to develop a wide variety of characterizations of 14 nanomaterials in 

commercial use.

5. Societal and Ethical Implications

• 5.1.Research on the societal and ethical aspects of nanotechnology should both be integrated with 

technical R&D and take place in the context of broader societal and ethical scholarship. Societal 

research should continue to be addressed in conjunction with technical research activities. However, these 

discussions will also be advanced by involvement of researchers who are primarily engaged in social science, 

ethics of technology, and other members of the broader academic community with expertise on science, 

technology, and society. [p. 34]

- Some centers that NSF has funded to address societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology 

are co-located with major NNI-funded nanotechnology research centers. Social scientists and 

nanotechnologists are interacting closely in these centers. 

- The NNCO Director is leading the ISO TC229 Task Group on Consumer and Societal 

Dimensions of Nanotechnologies. The principal tasks assigned to this group are to explore how all 

the 32 member countries of the Technical Committee are integrating societal and consumer 

aspects of nanotechnology into their work on nanotechnology standards and to survey all the 

other ISO technical committees (some 200) to determine how they are integrating this topic into 

their standards efforts.

6. Communication and Outreach

• 6.1.Demonstrate more clearly to the public the value of nanotechnology and NNI-supported research 

and development. Broader communication and outreach efforts are an essential part of successful 

innovation. A lack of information and basic understanding of nanotechnology by the general public fosters 

susceptibility to exaggerated claims and to miscommunications that generate unfounded hopes or fears; these 

in turn may inhibit future nanotechnology innovation and societal benefit. While communication is a 

fundamental responsibility of all researchers, a number of specific NNI programs are pursuing efforts to 

address this both broadly (e.g., the NSF Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network, or NISE Net ) 

and more narrowly, in areas of application (e.g., the model communications efforts of the Alliance for 

Nanotechnology in Cancer program at NCI ). Nonetheless, the NNI should undertake a more explicit and 

direct outreach approach to better inform and engage policymakers, stakeholders of all types, and the general 

public in a dialog as to the application-specific status and associated risk-benefit ratio of relevant nearcommercial and commercial nanotechnologies; and to convey the significance of nanotechnology-based 

capabilities to address grand challenges and future opportunities across industry sectors. Failing to effectively 

communicate the complete risk-benefit pictures with respect to various specific nanotechnology applications 

as they exist to date will hinder realization of the significant societal benefits, both demonstrated and 

promised, of nanotechnology advancements. [pp. 34–35] 

- In addition to the various NSF-funded activities mentioned above, NNCO has undertaken a 

number of activities aimed at communicating better to the public, policymakers, and other 

stakeholders the potential of nanotechnology. A major redesign of the NNI website, 

http://www.nano.gov, is currently underway, including new sections to facilitate public outreach. 

A brochure on nanotechnology intended for general audiences was completed in 2007 and has 

been so popular (e.g., with requests for thousands of copies coming from public school systems) 

that it is now in its third printing—two printings of 10,000 each have been distributed. NNCO is 

developing a similar brochure discussing the potential of nanotechnology to improve energy 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

52 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

conversion, storage, transmission, and efficient utilization. Other brochures on EHS and health 

applications are planned. The NNCO has a concerted effort underway to develop video footage 

about various aspects of nanotechnology that will be offered to local TV stations for their use in 

developing news stories about nanotechnology Finally, NNCO is now completing a first draft of a 

report documenting commercial spinoffs and research accomplishments arising from the NNI.

• 6.2.Enhance communications efforts within the NNCO. As an interagency office, the NNCO is well 

positioned to serve as a central point for much of the communication activity outlined above. In addition, 

the office also should coordinate among NNI agencies to enhance their agency-specific communication 

efforts. Member agencies should provide for greater resources to be directed toward these activities. [p. 35] 

- The 2010 NNCO communications plan addresses this recommendation. At the recommendation 

of the NSET Subcommittee, NNCO staff now includes two full-time communications 

professionals. NNCO has been reaching out to communications and public affairs offices in the 

NNI participating agencies but has experienced some challenges in engaging these offices in many 

of the agencies. 

7. Additional EHS Recommendations in the July 2008 PCAST/NNAP Addendum Report

The 2008 PCAST/NNAP report was almost completed when the NSET Subcommittee released its 

Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research in February 2008. 

Rather than delay the release of the NNAP report, PCAST issued an addendum to its report in July 2008

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST-Addendum-Letter.pdf) explicitly 

reviewing the NNI EHS strategy document. The following is a list of the recommendations from that 

addendum, and the NNI responses to each of them:

• 7.1. Assess Federal nanotechnology EHS portfolio and update gap analysis against research priorities 

triennially [p. 4]

- As part of the process of evaluating and adaptively managing the Federal strategy for 

nanotechnology-related EHS research, the Office of Management and Budget will issue a new 

data call to identify and analyze 2009 nanotechnology-related EHS projects funded by NNI 

participating agencies. 

- As another integral part of this process, the NEHI Working Group, under the sponsorship of the 

NSET Subcommittee, has launched a series of four workshops treating the five EHS research 

areas identified in the 2008 Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related EHS Research. After the 

completion of the fourth workshop in March 2010, NEHI, through its task forces, will use the 

workshop proceedings to inform and make recommendations to the NSET Subcommittee for 

adaptively managing the Federal EHS strategy. The first three workshops, held in 2009, 

assembled experts from academia, state, Federal, and international governments, industry, 

stakeholders, and the general public to identify the state of the science, review and update the 

identified EHS research needs, and identify the barriers and gaps to achieving these prioritized 

research needs. 

- The goal is to release an updated EHS strategy document in late 2010 or early 2011, integrating 

input from both the updated data call and the workshops described above.

• 7.2. Leverage opportunities to bootstrap identified gap areas and to encourage increased investments 

elsewhere through collaboration with industry and other countries; encourage broad and ongoing 

agency participation in such efforts [p. 4] 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 53

- NEHI Working Group member agencies regularly collaborate and coordinate their activities with 

each other and with other public and private entities, both nationally and internationally, as 

detailed elsewhere in this report. For example, EPA leads the U.S. delegation to the OECD’s 

Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials, whose body of work includes testing 14 

nanomaterials; DOS has chaired the OECD’s Working Party on Nanotechnology; NIST is 

working with other agencies including EPA, FDA, NIOSH, NCI and DOD to develop 

international documentary standards in nanotechnology. NSF, EPA, and USDA are coordinating 

a joint solicitation with the European Commission to promote interagency and international 

collaboration on EHS research.

• 7.3. Encourage supported researchers to report on the development of analytical methodologies used in 

their research so that a series of best practices can evolve for risk assessment and characterization [p. 5]

- NEHI Working Group member agencies are working together and with other organizations to 

develop the science and tools to support best practices. The two fall 2009 NNI workshops were 

deliberately cross-disciplinary efforts in part to identify critical instrumentation, metrology, and 

analytical methods needed to support best practices in EHS research for the environment and for 

human health. Presentations included expert comments on the scientific and technical challenges 

to creating reliable and reproducible best practices. Other examples include NIH/NCI and 

NIEHS holding a one-day workshop on nanoEHS informatics to provide a global resource of 

knowledge on nanomaterial characteristics and their biological interactions; NIH/NIEHS, 

NIST/NIH/NCI, FDA, NIOSH, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, ASTM 

International, and American National Standards Institute holding a workshop to accelerate 

standards development; NIOSH participating in the International Alliance for NanoEHS 

Harmonization round-robin testing of toxicological techniques to ensure their reproducibility and 

to facilitate the development of globally harmonized approaches to safety testing; and NIST and 

DOD jointly organizing a workshop on nanosilver to identify the most pressing standards and 

measurement needs.

• 7.4. Promote broad and practical use of EHS findings in defining responsible use of nanotechnology in 

research, manufacturing and commercial application [p. 5] 

- Individual NEHI Working Group member agencies and interagency collaborations are promoting 

and putting into practice EHS findings. Examples include DOD research to create a class of 

polymers that detect hazardous substances, EPA’s funding of research to use nanoparticles to 

quickly and easily clean up a groundwater contaminant, a boost in FDA funding to address the 

increase in numbers and complexity of products involving nanoscale materials under its review, 

and NSF efforts to focus on the implications for the next generation of nanotechnology and 

focusing on public participation. The fourth NNI EHS workshop in March 2010 will be on EHS 

risk management decision making to promote responsible product development while protecting 

public health. The workshop will also enlarge the EHS discussion to encompass the ethical, legal, 

and societal implications of nanotechnology.

• 7.5. Increase exposure assessment funding [p. 5] 

- NIOSH is the agency whose research efforts are most closely associated with funding for exposure 

assessment. In 2009 the agency invested $6.7 million in EHS research, its 2010 budget is 

estimated to rise to $9.5 million, and it proposes $16.5 million for 2011, a two-and-a-half–fold 

increase over 2009. These funds will directly support NIOSH’s investigations of the potential 

hazards of select nanomaterials, assessing human exposures in the workplace, evaluating controls 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

54 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

and risk management practices for the safe handling of nanomaterials, and developing guidance 

on medical screening and evaluation of workers.

• 7.6. Maintain and strengthen agency support and coordination efforts through the NSET 

subcommittee and NEHI working group [p. 5]

- As indicated above, agencies are exhibiting strong coordination and collaboration through the 

NSET Subcommittee and the NEHI Working Group. Examples include the NSET 

Subcommittee retreat convened in June 2008 (and planned again for June 2010) and the 

Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives developed by the agency representatives and selected for 

support in the 2011 budget (including nanotechnology for electronics, solar energy, and 

sustainable manufacturing). 

Review by the National Research Council of the National Academies

The last National Academies review of the NNI, A Review of the Federal Strategy for NanotechnologyRelated Environmental, Health, and Safety Research (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12559), 

was released in February 2009. The following is a summary of the major findings and recommendations of 

this report, and the NNI responses to each of them:

Findings

• The National Nanotechnology Initiative document Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related 

Environmental, Health, and Safety Research could be an effective tool for communicating the breadth of 

federally supported research associated with developing a more comprehensive understanding of the 

environmental, health, and safety implications of nanotechnology. It is the result of considerable 

collaboration and coordination among 18 federal agencies and is likely to eliminate unnecessary duplication 

of their research efforts. [p. 93]

- NNI representatives appreciate this recognition of some of the merits of the NNI strategy 

document.

• The Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research does not 

describe a strategy for nano-risk research. It lacks input from a diverse stakeholder group, and it lacks 

essential elements, such as a vision and a clear set of objectives, a comprehensive assessment of the state of the 

science, a plan or road map that describes how research progress will be measured, and the estimated 

resources required to conduct such research. [p. 93]

- The members of the NEHI Working Group who prepared the February 2008 NNI Strategy for 

Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research and the members of the 

NSET Subcommittee who reviewed and approved the document fully recognize the limitations of 

their first comprehensive Federal strategy for nanotechnology-related EHS research; this strategy 

explicitly calls for its continuous updating and improvement. However, NNI representatives 

challenge the factual underpinnings for some of the findings of this National Academies panel, 

including the bullet above summarizing a number of criticisms of the NNI strategy that appear 

throughout this National Academies report. The NNCO brought these factual issues to the 

attention of the National Academies staff after the release of the pre-publication version of this 

report in December 2008. The National Academies addressed some, but not the most substantive, 

of these issues in its final report, released in February 2009. Subsequently, with review and 

clearance from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NNCO published a public rebuttal 

of some of the National Academies study findings, outlining the factual issues that had not been 
4. Progress Towards Achieving NNI Goals and Priorities 

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 55

corrected in the final version of the report, many of which were the basis for major findings and 

recommendations. For full text of the January 5, 2009, NNI response to the factual misstatements 

in the NRC review, the reader is referred to the NNCO document on the NNI website, 

http://www.nano.gov/Response_to_NRC_Report_2_13_09.pdf. 

Recommendations

• There remains an urgent need for the nation to build on the current research base related to the EHS 

implications of nanotechnology—including the federally supported research described in the 2008 NNI 

document—by developing a national strategic plan for nanotechnology- related environmental, health, and 

safety research. [p. 93; another boldface section on p. 97 outlines what this plan should include]

- EPA recently funded the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST) at the 

National Academies to develop a national implementation plan or roadmap for nanotechnologyrelated EHS research that builds on the NNI EHS research strategy. It is expected to engage both 

public and private stakeholders, identifying roles and responsibilities as well as requisite resources. 

• As part of a broader strategic plan, NNI should continue to foster the successful interagency coordination 

effort that led to its 2008 document with the aim of ensuring that the federal plan is an integral part of the 

broader national strategic plan for investments in nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety 

research. In doing so, it will need a more robust gap analysis. The federal plan should identify milestones 

and mechanisms to ascertain progress and identify investment strategies for each agency. Such a federal plan 

could feed into a national strategic plan but would not itself be a broad, multistakeholder national strategic 

plan. Development of a national strategic plan should begin immediately and not await further refinement 

of the current federal strategy. [p. 97]

- As described previously in the PCAST review sections of this report, the NEHI Working Group 

has organized a series of public workshops in 2009 and 2010 to gather broad research community 

and stakeholder input on the evolving NNI EHS strategy, as part of the ongoing adaptive 

management approach laid out in the February 2008 NNI strategy document. One of the main 

objectives of these workshops is to develop a better analysis of the gaps in the existing Federal 

EHS investments. As discussed above, EPA has also funded the recommended BEST study to 

develop a broader national strategic plan.
56 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget
The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 57

APPENDIX A.GLOSSARY

Act Public Law 108-153, the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act

AF&PA American Forest and Paper Association

AFRI Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA/NIFA) 

Agencies Departments, agencies, and commissions within the Executive Branch of U.S. Federal 

Government

AMRDEC Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (DOD)

ARPA-E Advanced Research Projects–Energy (DOE)

ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

BEST Board on Environmental Science and Toxicology (National Academies) 

BIS Bureau of Industry and Security (DOC)

CBAN Cooperative Board for Advancing Nanotechnology

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CEIN Centers for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (EPA and NSF)

CNST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (DOC/NIST)

CNT Carbon nanotube

CORE Nanotechnology Collaborative Opportunities for Research Excellence (FDA program) 

CPSC Consumer Product Safety Commission

CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA); it was replaced by 

the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in 2009

CT Committee on Technology of the NSTC

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DHHS Department of Health and Human Services

DNI Director of National Intelligence

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOEd Department of Education

DOJ Department of Justice

DOL Department of Labor

DOS Department of State

DOT Department of Transportation

DOTreas Department of the Treasury

EC European Commission

EERE [Office of] Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE)

EHS Environmental, health, and safety
Appendix A. Glossary

58 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FDA Food and Drug Administration (DHHS)

FHWA Federal Highway Administration (DOT)

FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement

FS Forest Service (USDA)

GIN Global Issues in Nanotechnology (NSET Subcommittee working group)

ICON International Council on Nanotechnology

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ITC International Trade Commission

IWG Interagency working group

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NCER National Center for Environmental Research (EPA)

NCI National Cancer Institute (DHHS/NIH)

NCL Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (DHHS/NIH/NCI)

NCLT Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSF)

NEHI Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications Working Group of the NSET 

Subcommittee

NHGRI National Human Genome Research Institute (DHHS/NIH)

NHLBI National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (DHHS/NIH)

NIBIB National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (DHHS/NIH)

NIEHS National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (DHHS/NIH)

NIFA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA, replacing CSREES Oct. 1, 2009) 

NIH National Institutes of Health (DHHS)

NILI Nanotechnology Innovation and Liaison with Industry Working Group of the NSET 

Subcommittee

NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (DHHS/Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention)

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology (DOC)

NNAP National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel

NNCO National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

NNI National Nanotechnology Initiative

NNIN National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NSF program)

NPEC Nanotechnology Public Engagement and Communication Working Group of the NSET 

Subcommittee

NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission (also National Research Council of the National 

Academies)

NRO National Reconnaissance Office

NSEC Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSF program)

NSET Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee of the NSTC
Appendix A. Glossary

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 59

NSF National Science Foundation

NSRC Nanoscale Science Research Centers (DOE program)

NSTC National Science and Technology Council

NTP National Toxicology Program (DHHS)

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OMB Office of Management and Budget (Executive Office of the President)

OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy (Executive Office of the President) 

PCA Program Component Area

PCAST President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

RFA Request for Applications

SBIR Small Business Innovation Research Program

SI System Internationale (International System of Units)

STAR Science to Achieve Results (EPA)

STTR Small Business Technology Transfer Research Program

USGS U.S. Geological Survey (Department of the Interior)

USPTO U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (DOC)

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

WHO World Health Organization

WPMN Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (under the Chemicals Committee of the 

OECD)

WPN Working Party on Nanotechnology (OECD)
60 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

APPENDIX B. CONTACT LIST

OSTP

Travis M. Earles

Assistant Director for Nanotechnology

Office of Science and Technology Policy

Executive Office of the President

New Executive Office Building

Washington, DC 20502

T: 202-456-6025

F: 202-456-6021

Travis_M._Earles@ostp.eop.gov

OMB

Irene Kariampuzha

Office of Management and Budget

Executive Office of the President

725 17th St., N.W.

Washington, DC 20503

T: 202-395-3535

F: 202-395-4652

Irene_Kariampuzha@omb.eop.gov

NNCO

Dr. E. Clayton Teague

Director 

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-4319

F: 703-292-9312

cteague@nnco.nano.gov

CPSC

Dr. Mary Ann Danello

Associate Executive Director

Directorate for Health Sciences

Consumer Product Safety Commission

4330 East-West Highway, Suite 600

Bethesda, MD 20814

T: 301-504-7237

F: 301-504-0079

mdanello@cpsc.gov 

Dr. Treye Thomas

Toxicologist

Office of Hazard Identification and 

Reduction

Consumer Product Safety Commission

4330 East-West Highway, Suite 600

Bethesda, MD 20814

T: 301-504-7738

F: 301-504-0079

tthomas@cpsc.gov 

DHS

Dr. Richard T. Lareau

Science and Technology Directorate

Department of Homeland Security

William J. Hughes Technical Center, 

Bldg. 315

Atlantic City International Airport, NJ 

08405

T: 609-813-2760

F: 609-383-1973

Richard.Lareau@dhs.gov

Dr. Eric J. Houser

Department of Homeland Security

Office of Research and Development

Science and Technology Directorate

1120 Vermont Ave., N.W.

Washington, DC 20005

T: 202-254-5366

eric.houser@dhs.gov

DNI

Richard D. Ridgley

Chief Scientist

Advanced Systems and Technology 

Directorate 

National Reconnaissance Office

14675 Lee Road

Chantilly, VA 20151

T: 703 808-3115

F: 703 808-2646

ridgleyr@nro.mil

Susan Durham

DCI Intelligence Technology 

Innovation Center

Central Intelligence Agency

Washington, DC 20505

susaned0@ucia.gov

DOC/BIS

Kelly Gardner

Export Policy Advisor

Department of Commerce

Bureau of Industry and Security

Office of National Security and 

Technology Transfer Controls

14th St. & Constitution Ave., N.W.

Rm. 2600

Washington, DC 20230

T: 202-482-0102

F: 202-482-3345

kgardner@bis.doc.gov

DOD 

Dr. Lewis Sloter

Associate Director, Materials & 

Structures 

Office of the Director, Defense Research 

and Engineering

1777 N. Kent St Ste 9030

Arlington, VA 22209-2110

T: 703-588-7418

F: 703-696-2230

Lewis.Sloter@osd.mil

Dr. Mihal E. Gross

Program Officer - Functional 

Inorganic/Semiconductor/Nano 

Materials & Systems 

Office of Naval Research

Naval Materials Science and 

Technology Division - Code 332

875 North Randolph St., Suite 1425

Arlington, VA 22203-1995

T: 703-696-0388

F: 703-696-0934

mihal.gross@navy.mil

Dr. Gernot S. Pomrenke

Program Manager - Optoelectronics, 

THz and Nanotechnology

AFOSR/NE

Directorate of Physics and Electronics

Air Force Office of Scientific Research

875 North Randolph Street

Suite 325, Rm. 3112

Arlington, VA 22203-1768

T: 703-696-8426

F: 703-696-8481

gernot.pomrenke@afosr.af.mil
Appendix B. Contact List

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 61

Dr. Eric Snow

Director, Institute for Nanoscience

Code 1100

Naval Research Laboratory

Washington DC 20375

T: 202-767-3261

F: 202-767-1821

snow@bloch.nrl.navy.mil

Dr. David M. Stepp

Chief, Materials Science Division

Army Research Office

AMSRL-RO-PM (Materials Science 

Division)

P.O. Box 12211

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

T: 919-549-4329

F: 919-549-4399

david.m.stepp@us.army.mil

DOE

Dr. Patricia M. Dehmer

Deputy Director for Science Programs

Office of Science

U.S. Department of Energy

SC-2/FORS

1000 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20585

T: 202-586-5430 

F: 202-586-4120 

Patricia.Dehmer@science.doe.gov

Dr. Altaf H. Carim

Division of Scientific User Facilities

Office of Basic Energy Sciences

U.S. Department of Energy

SC-22.3/GTN

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20585-1290

T: 301-903-4895

F: 301-903-1690

carim@science.doe.gov

Dr. Chien-Wei Li

Industrial Technologies ProgramTechnology Manager

U.S. Department of Energy

Room 5F-035

1000 Independence Ave, SW

Washington, DC 20585

T: 202-287-5901

chien-wei.li@ee.doe.gov

Dr. John C. Miller

Division of Chemical Sciences, 

Geosciences, and Biosciences

Office of Basic Energy Sciences

U.S. Department of Energy

SC-22.1/GTN

1000 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20585

T: 301-903-5806

F: 301-903-4110

John.Miller@science.doe.gov

Dr. Andrew R. Schwartz

Division of Materials Sciences and 

Engineering

Office of Basic Energy Sciences 

U.S. Department of Energy

SC-22.2/GTN

1000 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20585-1290

T: (301) 903-3535

F: (301) 903-9513

andrew.schwartz@science.doe.gov

Dr. Brian Valentine

Office of Industrial Technologies

U.S. Department of Energy

Headquarters Bldg., EE-2F

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20585-0121

T: 202-586-9741

F: 202-586-9234

Brian.Valentine@ee.doe.gov

DOEd

Dr. Krishan Mathur

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Postsecondary Education

1990 K Street, N.W., #6144

Washington, DC 20006-8544

T: 202-502-7512

F: 202-502-7877

krish.mathur@ed.gov

DOJ

Joseph Heaps

Deputy Director, In-situ Thermal 

Desorption Technology

Department of Justice 

National Institute of Justice

Office of Science and Technology

810 7th Street, Rm. 7206

Washington, DC 20531

T: 202-305-1554

F: 202-305-9091

Joseph.Heaps@usdoj.gov

DOL

Brad Wiggins

Business Relations Group

U.S. Department of Labor

Employment & Training 

Administration

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Rm. N-4643

Washington, DC 20210

T: 202-693-3742

F: 202-693-3890

wiggins.brad@dol.gov

Linda Fowler

U.S. Department of Labor

Employment & Training 

Administration

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Rm. N-4643

Washington, DC 20210

Fowler.Linda.M@dol.gov

DOS

Kenneth Hodgkins

Director 

Office of Space & Advanced 

Technology

U.S. Department of State

OES/SAT, SA-23

1990 K Street NW, Suite 410

Washington, DC 20006

T: 202-663-2398

F: 202-663-2402

HodgkinsKD@state.gov

Dr. Chris Cannizzaro

Physical Science Officer

Office of Space & Advanced 

Technology

U.S. Department of State

OES/SAT, SA-23

1990 K Street NW, Suite 410

Washington, DC 20006

T: 202-663-2390

F: 202-663-2402

CannizzaroCM@state.gov 

DOT

Kelly Leone

Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration

Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.

Washington, DC 20590

T: 202-366-4334

Kelly.Leone@dot.gov
Appendix B. Contact List

62 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Dr. Jonathan Porter

Chief Scientist

Office of Research, Development, and 

Technology

Federal Highway Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation

Turner-Fairbank Highway Research 

Center 

6300 Georgetown Pike

McLean VA 22101-2200

T: 202-493-3038

F: 202-493-3417

jonathan.porter@fhwa.dot.gov

DOTreas

Dr. John F. Bobalek

Program Manager

Office of Research and Technical 

Support 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Rm. 201-29A

14th and C Streets, S.W.

Washington, DC 20228-0001

T: 202-874-2109

F: 202-927-7415

John.Bobalek@bep.treas.gov

EPA

Jeff Morris

Acting National Program Director for 

Nanotechnology

Office of Research and Development

Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20460

T. 202-564-6756

F. 202-565-2494

Morris.Jeff@epa.gov

Dr. Nora F. Savage

National Center for Environmental 

Research

Office of Research and Development

Mail Code 8722F

Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20460

T: 202-343-9858

F: 202-343-0678

Savage.Nora@epamail.epa.gov

Dr. Philip Sayre

Associate Director

Risk Assessment Division

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics

Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Mail Code 7403M

Washington, DC 20460

T: 202-564-7673

F: 202-564-7450

sayre.phil@epa.gov

FDA

Dr. Jesse Goodman

Chief Scientist and Deputy 

Commissioner for Science and Public 

Health (Acting)

Office of the Chief Scientist

Food and Drug Administration

WO1 Rm. 2335

10903 New Hampshire Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20993

T: 301-827-3340

F: 301-827-3410

jesse.goodman@fda.hhs.gov

Carlos Peña, PhD, MS

Senior Science Policy Advisor

Office of the Commissioner

FDA

5600 Fishers Lane

HF-33, Room 14B08

Rockville, MD 20857

T: 301-827-3340

F: 301-827-3042

carlos.pena@fda.hhs.gov

ITC

Elizabeth R. Nesbitt

International Trade Analyst for 

Biotechnology and Nanotechnology 

Chemicals and Textiles Division

Office of Industries

International Trade Commission

500 E Street, S.W.

Washington, DC 20436

T: 202-205-3355

F: 202-205-3161

elizabeth.nesbitt@usitc.gov

NASA 

Dr. Minoo N. Dastoor

Chief Technologist, Innovative 

Partnership Program Office

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration

NASA Headquarters, Rm. 6F80

Washington DC 20546-0001

T: 202-358-4518

F: 202-358-3878

mdastoor@mail.hq.nasa.gov

Dr. Meyya Meyyappan

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration

Ames Research Center

MS 229-3 

Moffett Field, CA 94035

T: 650-604-2616

F: 650-604-5244

m.meyyappan@nasa.gov

NIH

Dr. Piotr Grodzinski

Program Director, Nanotechnology in 

Cancer

Office of Technology and Industrial 

Relations

Office of the Director

National Cancer Institute

National Institutes of Health

31 Center Drive, 10A52

Bethesda, MD 20892

T: 301-496-1550

F: 301-496-7807

grodzinp@mail.nih.gov

Dr. Lori Henderson

Program Director

National Institute of Biomedical 

Imaging and Bioengineering

National Institutes of Health

Democracy Two, Suite 200, MSC 5469

6707 Democracy Blvd.

Bethesda, MD 20892-5469

T: 301-451-4778

F: 301-480-0679

hendersonlori@mail.nih.gov
Appendix B. Contact List

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 63

Dr. Jeffery A. Schloss

Program Director 

Technology Development Coordination 

National Human Genome Research 

Institute 

National Institutes of Health 

Suite 4076, MSC 9305 

5635 Fishers Lane 

Bethesda, MD 20892-9305 

T: 301-496-7531

F: 301-480-2770

jeff_schloss@nih.gov

NIH/OD

Dr. Lynn Hudson

Deputy Director

Office of Science Policy & Planning

National Institutes of Health

Office of the Director

Building 1 - Shannon Bldg, Rm. 218

1 Center Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

T: 301-496-0786

F: 301-402-0280

HudsonL1@od.nih.gov 

Dr. Nancy E. Miller

Senior Science Policy Analyst

Office of Science Policy and Planning

Office of the Director

National Institutes of Health

1 Center Drive

Bldg 1, Rm. 218

Bethesda, MD 20892

T: 301-594-7742

F: 301-402-0280

MILLERN@od1tm1.od.nih.gov

NIH/FIC

George Herrfurth

Multilateral Affairs Coordinator

Division of International Relations

Fogarty International Center

National Institutes of Health

Building 31, Rm. B2C11

Bethesda, MD 20892-2220

T: 301-402-1615

F: 301-480-3414

herrfurg@mail.nih.gov

NIH/NCI

Dr. Piotr Grodzinski

Program Director, Nanotechnology in 

Cancer

Office of Technology and Industrial 

Relations

Office of the Director

National Cancer Institute

National Institutes of Health

31 Center Drive, 10A52

Bethesda, MD. 20892

T: 301-496-1550

F: 301-496-7807

grodzinp@mail.nih.gov

Dr. Scott McNeil

Director, Nanotechnology 

Characterization Laboratory

National Cancer Institute at Frederick

National Institutes of Health

P.O. Box B, Building 469

1050 Boyles Street

Frederick, MD 21702-1201

T: 301-846-6939

F: 301-846-6399

mcneils@ncifcrf.gov 

NIH/NHGRI

Dr. Vivian Ota Wang

Division of Extramural Research

National Human Genome Research 

Institute

National Institutes of Health

Suite 4076, MSC 9305

5635 Fishers Lane

Bethesda, MD 20892-9305 

T: 301-496-7531

F: 301-480-2770

otawangv@mail.nih.gov

NIH/NHLBI

Dr. Denis Buxton

Advanced Technologies and Surgery 

Branch, DHVD

National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute

National Institutes of Health

6701 Rockledge Drive, Rm. 8216

Bethesda, MD 20817 

T: 301-435-0513

F: 301-480-1454

BuxtonD@nhlbi.nih.gov

NIH/NIEHS

Dr. John R. Bucher

Associate Director

National Toxicology Program

National Institute of Environmental 

Health Sciences

National Institutes of Health

P.O. Box 12233

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

T: 919-541-4532

F: 919-541-4225

bucher@niehs.nih.gov

Dr. Sally S. Tinkle

Senior Science Advisor to the Deputy 

Director 

National Institute of Environmental 

Health Sciences

National Institutes of Health

P.O. Box 12233, MD B2-06

Durham, NC 27709

T: 919-541-0993

F: 919-541-5064

stinkle@niehs.nih.gov

NIH/NIGMS

Dr. Catherine Lewis

Director, Division of Cell Biology and 

Biophysics

National Institute of General Medical 

Sciences

National Institutes of Health

45 Center Drive, Rm. MSC 6200

Bethesda, MD 20892-6200

T: 301-594-0828

F: 301-480-2004

catherine.lewis@nih.hhs.gov

NIOSH

Dr. Charles L. Geraci, Jr.

Coordinator, Nanotechnology Research 

Center

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health

4676 Columbia Parkway 

Cincinnati, OH 45226

T: 513-533-8339

CGeraci@cdc.gov 
Appendix B. Contact List

64 The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget

Dr. Vladimir V. Murashov

Special Assistant to the Director

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health

OD/NIOSH M/S-P12

395 E Street, S.W.

Suite 9200

Washington, DC 20201

T: 202-245-0668

F: 202-245-0628

vladimir.murashov@cdc.hhs.gov

NIST

Mark Bello

Public and Business Affairs Office

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1070

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1070

T: 301-975-3776

F: 301-926-1630

mark.bello@nist.gov

Dr. Jason Boehm

Acting Director, Program Office

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1060

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1060

T: 301-975-8678

F: 301-216-0529

jason.boehm@nist.gov

Dr. Ajit Jillavenkatesa

Program Office

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1060

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1060

T: 301-975-8519

F: 301-216-0529

ajit.jilla@nist.gov

Dr. Debra L. Kaiser

Chief, Ceramics Division

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8520

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8520

T: 301-975-6119

F: 301-975-5334

dkaiser@nist.gov

Dr. Robert Rudnitsky

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 6200

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-6200

T: 301-975-4699

T: 301-975-8026

robert.rudnitsky@nist.gov 

Dr. Lloyd J. Whitman

Deputy Director, Center for Nanoscale 

Science and Technology

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 6200

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-6200

T: 301-975-8002

F: 301-975-8026

whitman@nist.gov 

NRC

Rick Croteau, Deputy Director

Division of Engineering

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555-0001

T: 301-415-7210

RXC2@nrc.gov

NSF

Dr. Mihail C. Roco 

Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology

National Science Foundation

Directorate for Engineering

4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 505

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-8301

F: 703-292-9013

mroco@nsf.gov 

Dr. Parag R Chitnis

Deputy Division Director

National Science Foundation

Directorate for Biological Sciences

4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 605N

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-8440

F: 703-292-9061

pchitnis@nsf.gov 

Dr. Zakya H. Kafafi

Director, Division of Materials Research

National Science Foundation

Directorate for Mathematical and 

Physical Sciences

4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1065

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-8810

F: 703-292-9035

zkafafi@nsf.gov

Dr. T. James Rudd

Program Manager, SBIR/STTR

Office of Industrial Innovation

National Science Foundation

4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 550

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-4759

F: 703-292-9057

tjrudd@nsf.gov

USDA/NIFA 

Dr. Hongda Chen

National Program Leader, Bioprocess 

Engineering/Nanotechnology 

The National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Ave., S.W. 

Mail Stop 2220 

Washington, DC 20250-2220 

T: 202-401-6497 

F: 202-401-5179

HCHEN@nifa.usda.gov

USDA/FS 

Dr. Christopher D. Risbrudt

Director 

Forest Products Laboratory

USDA Forest Service

One Gifford Pinchot Drive

Madison, WI 53726-2398

T: 608-231-9318

F: 608-231-9567

crisbrudt@fs.fed.us

Dr. Theodore H. Wegner

Assistant Director

Forest Products Laboratory

USDA Forest Service

One Gifford Pinchot Drive

Madison, WI 53726-2398

T: 608-231-9434

F: 608-231-9567

twegner@fs.fed.us
Appendix B. Contact List

The National Nanotechnology Initiative—Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget 65

Dr. Robert Doudrick

Staff Director, Resource Use Science 

USDA Forest Service

1400 Independence Ave., S.W. 

Mailstop Code: 1114

Washington, DC 20250-1114

T: 703-605-4195

F: 703-605-5137

rdoudrick@fs.fed.us

Dr. World Nieh

National Program Leader, Forest 

Products and Utilization

USDA Forest Service 

1400 Independence Ave., S.W. 

Mailstop Code: 1114 

Washington, DC 20250-1114

T: 703-605-4197 

F: 703-605-5137

wnieh@fs.fed.us

Dr. Howard Rosen

Resource Use Science

USDA Forest Service

1400 Independence Ave., S.W. 

Mailstop Code: 1114

Washington, DC 20250-1114

T: 703-605-4196

F: 703-605-5137

hrosen@fs.fed.us

USGS

Dr. Sarah Gerould

Bureau Program Coordinator, 

Contaminant Biology Program

U.S. Geological Survey 

Mail Stop 301 National Center

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

Reston, VA 20192

T: 703-648-6895

F: 703-648-4238 

sgerould@usgs.gov

USPTO 

Charles Eloshway

Patent Attorney

Office of International Relations

Patent and Trademark Office

P.O. Box 1450

Alexandria, VA 22313

T: 571-272-9300

F: 571-273-0123

Charles.Eloshway@uspto.gov

Bruce Kisliuk

Patent Examining Group Director

Technology Center 1600

Patent and Trademark Office

P.O. Box 1450

Alexandria, VA 22313

T: 571-272-0950 

Bruce.Kisliuk@uspto.gov

Additional NNCO Staff Contacts 

Marlowe Epstein

Assistant Communications Director and 

NILI Executive Secretary

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-7128

F: 703-292-9312

mepstein@nnco.nano.gov

Dr. Heather Evans

AAAS Fellow and GIN Executive 

Secretary

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-7916

F: 703-292-9312

hevans@nnco.nano.gov

Liesl Heeter

IT Director and NEHI Executive 

Secretary

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-4533

F: 703-292-9312

lheeter@nnco.nano.gov

Geoffrey M. Holdridge

Policy Analyst and NSET Executive 

Secretary

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-4532

F: 703-292-9312

gholdrid@nnco.nano.gov

Diana Petreski

Office Manager

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-8626

F: 703-292-9312

dpetreski@nnco.nano.gov

Ken Vest

Communications Director and NPEC 

Executive Secretary

National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office 

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Suite 405

Arlington, VA 22230

T: 703-292-4503

F: 703-292-9312

kvest@nnco.nano.gov
National Science and Technology Council

Committee on Technology 

Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology 

National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Stafford II, Rm. 405

Arlington, VA 22230

703-292-8626 phone

703-292-9312 fax

www.nano.gov