Nanotechnology: Oversight of the National Nanotechnology Initiative and Priorities for the Future

Opening Statement By Ranking Member Daniel Lipinski

Thank you Chairman Brooks, for yielding, but more importantly, thank you for holding this hearing today.  It’s been exactly three years since the committee last held a hearing on nanotechnology, so I’m happy we’re returning to one of my favorite topics.  Federal investments in nanotechnology research have already led to job creation in my state and across the nation, and I believe the potential for return on our relative modest federal investment is many times what we’ve already witnessed.

I’m fond of saying that I “drank the nanotech kool-aid” the first time I visited Chad Merkin’s lab at Northwestern.  I was amazed by what he could do at the scale of a single atom. In nanotechnology there is now a branch of engineering that simply did not exist 23 years ago when I was getting my degree in mechanical engineering. By controlling individual atoms we can create new materials, products, companies, and jobs.

And it’s not just materials science or semiconductors. Companies like Mr. Moffitt’s Nanosphere, which emerged from Dr. Merkin’s lab 10 years ago, are succeeding because nanotechnology is helping us understand biology at the cellular level. We are now seeing applications that were not even imagined 11 years ago when the National Nanotechnology Initiative was first created.  The range of potential applications is broad and will have enormous consequences for electronics, energy transformation and storage, materials, and medicine and health, to name just a few examples.

The Science Committee recognized the promise of nanotechnology early on, holding our first hearing more than a decade ago to review Federal activities in the field.  The Committee was subsequently instrumental in the development and enactment of a statute in 2003 that authorized the interagency National Nanotechnology Initiative – the NNI.

We have passed a widely supported, bipartisan update to the NNI bill in the House three times since 2008.  Unfortunately, all three times the bill died in the Senate.  But I hope, Chairman Brooks, that we will have an opportunity to take up an NNI Reauthorization bill once again in this Congress.  Maybe 4th time is a charm?

I don’t think the NNI requires major revisions.  It seems to be working pretty well.  But I do think there are opportunities to formalize some of the recommendations we have received in the last few years from PCAST and the National Academies on how to strengthen the program even further, without any additional costs.  Our bill has been about making smarter use of the money we are already spending, not necessarily about spending more.  I welcome recommendations from our witnesses today on how we can continue to improve upon the existing program.

Today’s hearing is a broad overview of the NNI program and its benefits to our economy and society.  I am particularly excited about the Administration’s signature initiative in sustainable nanomanufacturing, and I look forward to hearing how the agencies are responding to PCAST recommendations to ensure that this initiative is successful, such as by developing coordinated milestones, promoting strong educational components, and creating public-private partnerships in nanomanufacturing. 

But I would like to spend my last couple of minutes talking about something else.  In our invitations to the witnesses, we did not ask you to submit testimony specifically on environmental, health, and safety – or EHS – research that must be part of any comprehensive nanotechnology research strategy.  But hopefully we can engage in some discussion on this topic during the Q&A.

It is important for the successful development of nanotechnology that potential downsides be addressed from the beginning in a straightforward and open way.   We know too well that negative public perceptions about the safety of a technology can have serious consequences for its acceptance and use.  I hope to hear from our industry witnesses about their thoughts on this issue. However, this is about more than just perception.

The simple fact is the science base is not now available to pin down what types of engineered nanomaterials may be harmful.  We don’t yet know what characteristics of these materials determine their effects on living things or on the environment.  Nor do we even have standards and measurement tools for the full range of relevant or potentially relevant characteristics.

The NNI has always included activities for increasing understanding of the environmental and safety aspects of nanotechnology.  But I believe that EHS research did not receive sufficient attention or funding for many years.  While I applaud the current Administration’s increased emphasis on EHS, I remain concerned about the lack of a well designed and effectively executed EHS research program.  I understand that a new EHS strategy is days away from being released.  I look forward to hearing from Dr. Teague about that strategy and how it incorporates the comments of experts from both academia and industry.

Finally, before I yield back, I’d like to express my gratitude to Dr. Teague for his 8 years of service to the NNI and to our country. I learned yesterday that he will be retiring. Tomorrow, I believe. Dr. Teague has been with the NNI almost since its beginning, and I know his expertise will be missed.

Once again, I am very happy we are having this hearing today.  I look forward to all of the witness testimony and the Q&A, and I thank you all for being here today.  I yield back.

Witnesses

Panel

0 - Dr. Clayton Teague
Director National Nanotechnology Coordination Office National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
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0 - Dr. Jeffrey Welser
Director Nanoelectronics Research Initiative, Semiconductor Research Corporations Nanoelectronics Research Initiative, Semiconductor Research Corporations
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0 - Dr. Seth Rudnick
Chairman of the Board Liquidia Technologies Liquidia Technologies

0 - Dr. James Tour
Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology Rice University Rice University
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0 - Mr. William Moffitt
President and CEO Nanosphere, Inc. Nanosphere, Inc.
Download the Witness Testimony