Posted: February 27, 2007

Public invited to nanotechnology forum on benefits and risks

(Nanowerk News) A public forum on the benefits and risks of nanotechnology will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday, March 12, in the Gumwood Room of the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave., at the University of Oregon.
The event will feature brief presentations by scientists about nanotechnology – what it is, perceived risks of the technology and how it can benefit society – followed by small-group discussions. In this case, participants will examine the benefits and risks involved in the development and use of nanoparticle-based solar cells as an example of the technology.
A panel of experts, including Vicki Colvin, Paul Anastas and Jim Hutchison, will provide an overview of nanotechnology and explain some of the societal benefits and risks of the new technology to set the stage for the ensuing roundtable discussion. Colvin is a professor chemistry and chemical engineering at Rice University; Anastas is a professor of green chemistry at Yale University; and Hutchison, is a UO professor of chemistry and director of the UO Materials Science Institute.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the University of Oregon, the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) and ONAMI's Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative are sponsoring the forum. Hutchison directs the ONAMI initiative.
Admission is free. Seating, however, will be limited so advanced registration is suggested either through the Web (http://greennano.org/register.html) or by calling Bettye Maddux, 541-713-1330.
The public forum was scheduled as a separate, unrelated event while scientists from around the country are here to attend the second annual Safer Nano 2007 Conference.
Source: University of Oregon