THE HONORABLE NICK SMITH

CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON BASIC RESEARCH

OPENING STATEMENT

HEARING ON

June 22, 1999

Today, the Subcommittee is meeting to review federal funding of research into nanotechnology, 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.

In Fiscal Year 1999, the federal government will spend approximately $230 million on nanotechnology research. Eighty percent of the funding comes from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. The remaining money comes from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Commerce, and NASA. In addition, the private sector has shown interest in the field of nanotechnology.

According to testimony submitted by our panelists, scientists have already learned a great deal about how to use nanotechnology. The best example of this is today’s biotechnology industry. But according to researchers, that is only the beginning. Nanotechnology holds great promise for breakthroughs in health, manufacturing, agriculture, energy use, and national security. In fact, some researchers state that over the next few decades, nanotechnlogy will impact every aspect of our society.

Unfortunately, while progress has been made, the United States does not dominate nanotechnology research. A significant amount of research is currently underway in Europe and in Japan.

In that context, it is appropriate for the Subcommittee to take a good look at the federal government’s role in funding nanotechnology research, to discuss what can be done to help move this research from the lab to the marketplace, and to discuss where nanotechnology might be in ten, twenty or thirty years from now.

I would like to thank our panelists for appearing before the Subcommittee today, and I look forward to hearing their testimony.