Grand Challenge To Focus On Nanotechnology

The White House last week announced that nanotechnology will be at the core of its newest grand challenge, a program that aims to advance ambitious but achievable goals in specific areas of scientific research. The White House is seeking help from the scientific community and the public at large to identify what the focus of the nanotechnology challenge should be. “We hope to receive suggestions for bold and exciting challenges that nanotechnology can solve,” says Michael Meador, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. Cheaper ways to turn seawater into drinkable water or faster ways to evaluate a nanomaterial’s safety are a few initial ideas. The announcement comes after a President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology report last month suggesting that the Administration could speed up nanotechnology development through grand challenges. Other grand challenges the Obama Administration has launched are aimed at the brain, solar energy, and asteroids, and federal funding has been directed to this research.