The purpose of the hearing is to review federal funding of nanotechnology research, to discuss the role of the federal government in supporting nano-science research, and to discuss the economic implications of scientific advances made in the field of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is the building of tools and systems that function on a minuscule scale. Technically, it is the creation of functional materials, devices and systems through the control of matter on the nanometer (10^-9-10^-7m) length scale and the exploitation of the novel properties and phenomena developed at that scale. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter (10^-9 m). That is roughly ten times the size of an individual atom. By comparison, proteins, the molecules that catalyze chemical transformations in cells, are in the 1-20 nanometers in size.

Scientists have been interested in the field of nanotechnology since the late-1950’s. One of the early proponents of research into nano-science was the Nobel Prize winning physicist, Richard Feynmann. In a 1959 lecture entitled, "There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom," he stimulated his audience with the expectation of exciting new discoveries if one could fabricate materials and devices at the atomic/molecular scale. Since that time, federal support for research into nanotechnology has increased to over $200 million per year.

Some experts have compared the state of nanotechnology today to that state of the computer industry in the late 1950s. In the 1950s, a group of leading computer experts predicted that in the future computers would be able to process 5,000 numbers per second and weigh only 3,000 pounds. Since that time, of course, computer-power has skyrocketed to the point that high-tech computers can process billions of operations per a second and their size has shrunk to where they fit easily on a desk-top. Today’s nano-science researchers believe that nano-science may be more revolutionary than the computers industry due to the fact that nanotechnology can be used in so many fields. As the use nanotechnology grows, its impact could affect all aspects of our society.

The practical results of research into nanotechnology are just beginning to be seen. Minuscule drug delivery systems (already a 13 billion per year industry), the development of transistors that use less energy and that could improve the efficiency of computers by a factor of one million, and tiny medical probes that won’t damage tissue are three examples of the practical uses of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology, however, is not limited to minuscule tools and products. It has the potential to be used to make larger machines much more efficient by making their parts stronger, safer and more durable. The Department of Transportation is presently funding research to develop uses for nanotechnology that can be applied in the transportation industry in the next five years. The Department of Energy has funded research and development into micro-machines for use in DOE’s Stockpile Stewardship Program.

Other examples of nanotechnology research include: genetically-modified agricultural products; biomolecular computing; research into the production of thin films; biomedical engineering to benefit persons with disabilities; the development of wear-resistant coatings; the production of ultra-lightweight structures to minimize NASA launch costs; nano-scale lithography; nano-electronics; and biological self-assembly.

The United States is not the only country interested in nanotechnology. According to the Department of Commerce, Japanese companies and research institutes are more focused on this issue than U.S. companies and researchers. Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry has funded two 10-year nanotechnology programs: the Atomic Technology Project ($185 million) and Quantum Functional Devices Project ($40 million). In addition, the Japanese Science and Technology Agency funds several research institute on nanotechnology. The Department of Commerce also found that there is significant nanotechnology research underway in China, Russia and parts of Europe, especially Germany.

U.S. Funding: According to a December 1998 International Technology Research Institute report sponsored by NSF, federal government support for nanotechnology research in Fiscal Year 1997 totaled $116 million. The following table outlines the approximate amount that those agencies have allocated to nanotechnology in Fiscal Year 1999.

Fiscal Year 1999 Federal Funding of Nanotechnology Research

Nanotechnology for the 21^st Century Initiative: In a report presented to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in March of 1999, the Interagency Working Group—consisting of representatives from NSF, DOD, DOE, DOC, NASA, NIH, and DOT—recommended the establishment of a national initiative on nanotechnology as part of the Fiscal Year 2001 Budget. The multi-agency initiative. "Nanotechnology for the 21^st Century, Leading to a New Industrial Revolution," as this initiative will be called, would greatly increase the federal funding of nanotechnology. The report recommends doubling the current level of funding over a three year period. The initiative would be similar in size to the IT² initiative for information technology.

The initiative would focus on fundamental research in novel phenomena, processes and tools; synthesis and processing by design; nanostructured devices, materials and systems that are high risk, broadly enabling and are designed to have major impact; education and training of future nanotechnology workers; and technology transfer issues.

The Subcommittee will hear from Dr. Eugene Wong, the Assistant Director of NSF’s Engineering Directorate the National Science Foundation, Professor Richard Smalley, Ph.D. of Rice University, Ralph C. Merkle, Ph.D. of XEROX, and Mr. Paul McWhorter, the Deputy Director of Sandia National Laboratories’ Microsystems Science, Technology and Components Center.

Among the issues to be explored during the hearing are the following:

• How much progress has been made in nanotechnology over the last decade? Have the advances in nanotechnology been predictable or unpredictable? Have the advances been due to organized nanotechnology programs or were they the result of individual scientific discovery?
• How would a multi-agency nanoscience initiative be managed? Of the participating agencies, which would be the "lead" agency?

• Should the Nanotechnology Intitiative be focused on certain areas? Which fields of research hold the most promise for nanotechnology?
• Would the Initiative involve outlining and proscribing the issues that each agency would research, or is the initiative framework simply a budget tool to help increase spending on already-existing nanotechnology programs?
• How do you determine what is "basic research" and what is "applied research" in terms of nanotechnology?
• How will nanoscience effect medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing?
• How will the Nanotechnology Initiative address education issues.

• When we will begin to see results from investment in nano-science?

• Has private sector industry shown any interest in nanotechnology? How much nanotechnology research is supported by private industry?
• How does the U.S. stand in comparison to other countries in terms of nanotechnology research?