Posted: March 5, 2009

Nanotechnology and the public: new data for decision makers

(Nanowerk News) On Monday, March 9, 2009, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, and 13 recognized scholars studying societal implications of nanotechnology will brief the U.S. Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus, with a projected attendance of 40 congressional staff and other federal policymakers.
The Caucus co-chairs are Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX). The briefing has been organized by the NSF-funded Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU), in collaboration with the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Agenda
2:00 p.m. Welcome
Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University
2:05 p.m. Public Understanding of and Attitudes toward Nanotechnology: Overview
Julia Moore, deputy director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies – a joint initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts
Dietram A. Scheufele, professor of life sciences communication at the University of Wisconsin and senior investigator with CNS-ASU.
2:25 p.m. Publics and Nano Risk
Barbara Herr Harthorn, professor of feminist studies, anthropology and sociology at University of California at Santa Barbara and director of the NSF-funded Center for Nanotechnology in Society at UCSB
Dan Kahan, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School and a member of the Cultural Cognition Project
2:45 p.m. Public Engagement: National Citizens’ Technology Forum
David H. Guston, professor of political science, co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, and director of the NSF-funded CNS-ASU
Michael D. Cobb, associate professor of political science at North Carolina State University and a senior investigator with CNS-ASU
3:00 p.m. Public Engagement: Museums’ and Science Centers’ Forums
Larry Bell, senior vice president for strategic initiatives at the Museum of Science in Boston and director of the NSF-funded Nano-scale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net)
Christine Reich, manager of research and evaluation at the Museum of Science, Boston, and leader of the evaluation team and the diversity, equity and access team of NISE Net
Each panel will include presentations and discussion. The panels will be followed by refreshments and a 45-minute open conversation with the panelists and other related researchers, including:

Donald Braman, George Washington University School of Law

Joseph Conti, University of California, Santa Barbara

Elizabeth Corley, Arizona State University

Jason Delborne, Colorado School of Mines

Mark Philbrick, University of California, Berkeley

This Briefing before the U.S. Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus will take place at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 562, Constitution Avenue & First Street, NE, in Washington, DC.
Source: Berkeley Lab