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Identifying Science and Business Issues:
The Case of Nanotechnology
Dr. Danial Wayner, Director General
National Institute for Nanotechnology, Edmonton
Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, Ottawa
The Case of Nanotechnology
Contents
• Catching the nanotechnology wave
• Managing emerging technologies
• Business opportunities in nanotechnology
• What government can do
The Case of Nanotechnology
Nanoresearch vs Nanotechnology
Nanoresearch
• research at the atomic, molecular or
macromolecular levels to:
– create and use structures, devices and systems that
have novel properties and functions with critical
length scales typically under 100 nm
– provide fundamental understanding of phenomena
and materials at the nanoscale in 1, 2 or 3
dimensions
The Case of Nanotechnology
Nanoresearch vs Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
• useful applications of nanoscience/engineering
knowledge and discoveries
– integration into existing technologies
– new applications based on transformational or
revolutionary discoveries
Complexity (# of nanocomponents)
The Case of Nanotechnology
atoms
macro/supra
molecules
molecules
networks
systems
organism
self-organizing
Assemblies
organ
Biological
Complexity
tissue
cell
Integrated Nanosystems
•Artificial organs/tissue
•Chemical information systems
integrated with electronics
•Adaptive materials
organelle
protein
DNA
nucleic/
amino
acid
0.1
www
nano
materials
1
10
electronics/
photonics
100
bulk materials
103 106
Length Scale (nm)
107
>108
Non-Bio
Complexity
The Case of Nanotechnology
Catching the nanotechnology wave
• What is the wave?
– most of what we hear and see is nanoresearch
– there are increasing incremental improvements to
traditional technologies (e.g. nanocomposites)
– some discoveries suggest discontinuities in product
development, manufacturing paradigms
– there is a feeling that we are on the verge of something
revolutionary but it is still not well defined
• Hype versus Reality
– the research and investment communities are fueling
unreasonable expectations
The Case of Nanotechnology
The Case of Nanotechnology
Catching the nanotechnology wave
• How do we know it is coming?
– It is underpinned by many years of research
– It builds on a succession of high profile reports
– It requires significant capital investment in infrastructure
and capacity building
– it promises economic impact on optimistic timescales
The Case of Nanotechnology
Catching the nanotechnology wave
• Nanotechnology fits this description well:
– It is based on many years of basic research in physics,
chemistry and biology. And several major areas of
nanotechnology still require substantial scientific
research before commercial ‘technologies’ will emerge.
– there are many parallels with the biotech revolution
– Future nanotech research and production facilities will
require massive investments
– There are an increasing number of startups even though
markets are not yet clearly defined
The Case of Nanotechnology
Catching the nanotechnology wave
• Trying to catch the wave is risky!
• Anxiety over IP, wealth generation leads to:
– Taking a new ‘technology’ out of a university or
government lab and into a ‘start-up’ company before
major research problems are resolved
– products without markets, markets without products
– unanticipated problems in scale up, moving from
prototypes to production
– incomplete understanding of the value chain – low ROI
– if not managed well, disillusionment/backlash (dot coms,
photonics)
The Case of Nanotechnology
Managing Technology Risk – Some Science Policy Issues
• National S&T priorities
– defines strengths, weaknesses, opportunties, threats at a
national level
– provides a framework within which funding decisions
may be taken (critical mass)
– creates opportunity for organizational synergies
• Technology Clusters
– regional clusters of competing and collaborating firms,
associated with university and government research
facilities to share the risk and the rewards
– well developed receptor capacity
– spin-offs when necessary but not necessarily spin-offs
The Case of Nanotechnology
Managing Technology Risk – Some Science Policy Issues
• Funding
– Provide long term funding of research into nanoscience in both
the universities and government labs, e.g., NINT
– Provide other incentives to SME’s (contracts vs grants)
• Outreach/education
– closing the gap between science and business/investors
• Nano Environmental, Ethical, Economic, Legal, Social
Implications (NE3LS)
– public rejection can derail technologies (e.g. GM foods)
– developing a NE3LS capacity at this early stage is an
opportunity for Canada to establish a competitive edge in a
global economy
The Case of Nanotechnology
NINT: Collaborative Model
NRC
Province+UofA
NINT: Building
NRC
CrossAppointments
NRC/UofA
Shared
Nanotech
Facility
• Research
Programs
• Industry
Partnership
Facility
$20M
$20M
$12M/a
CrossAppointments
$40M
University
Aligned
Nanotech
Research
Programs
$40M
The Case of Nanotechnology
Business opportunities in nanotechnology
• Short Term (less disruptive)
– Nanomaterials
– Nanotools
– Nano-electromechanical systems
• Long Term (more disruptive)
– Nanoelectronics/quantum computing
– Bionanotechnology/personalized health care
– Integrated Nanosystems/Convergent Technologies