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CNS-UCSB Researchers Visit China to Study Nanotechnology Research Enterprises |
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November 06, 2006 |
A research team from UCSB’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS-UCSB) traveled to China this summer to explore China’s efforts to become the world’s leading economic powerhouse in the emerging field of nanotechnology. The team of five researchers led by UCSB Professor Richard Appelbaum spent three weeks conducting interviews with leading Chinese nanoscientists and visiting nanotechnology research centers in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin. The group’s motivation in traveling to China was to learn more about the sociological and economic factors leading to China’s emergence as a major center for the development and production of nanotechnology-based products.
The CNS-UCSB research team investigated the current status of Chinese nanotechnology research enterprises by visiting several of the country’s major nanotechnology promotion organizations. They also interviewed more than thirty established nanoscience scholars, governmental policy-makers, researchers associated with R&D centers, and engineers concerned with commercializing nanoscale products. Among the leading Chinese nanotechnologists they interviewed were Dr. Xie Sishen, chief scientist for the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing, Dr. Liu Zhongfan, head of the Nanochemistry Laboratory at Peking University, and Dr. Zhao Dongyuan, head of the Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials Lab in the Department of Chemistry at Fudan University in Shanghai.
The trip was part of Appelbaum’s larger study examining the processes underlying international nanotechnology diffusion in an age of globalization. Information collected on this trip will be used to establish a baseline against which to judge the developmental trajectory of China’s nanotechnology research enterprises. During future trips, the team will collect additional data about the nature of international collaborations among Chinese and other nanotechnology researchers, including those in the U.S. A third area of research involves mapping the nature and number of scientific publications in nanotechnology being produced by Chinese scholars as another way of measuring the development of Chinese nanotechnologies and international collaborations in the field.
When asked why he chose to begin this research in China, Appelbaum noted that China represents one-fifth of the world’s population and currently has its fastest growing economy. “And China is rising as a power in nanotechnology,” he said. “The sheer
volume of publications by Chinese scientists has risen dramatically in the past few years, and is now a close second place to the U.S. If you are going to choose one place to study the development of the nanotechnology industry, I think it would be China.”
Gary Gereffi, the Director of Duke University’s Center on Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness and a member of Appelbaum’s CNS-UCSB research working group, also made the trip. Joining them were Gereffi’s research colleague Ryan Ong, and two UCSB graduate students, sociologist Rachel Parker and environmental scientist Yiping Cao.
Several UCSB nanoscientists from the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) who are also affiliated with CNS-UCSB were in China to attend international nanotechnology conferences at the same time as Appelbaum’s team, and assisted them in making contacts with Chinese scientists and research centers. These included CNSI’s Director, Dr. Evelyn Hu; Tim Cheng, the Chair of UCSB’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Brad Chmelka, Professor of Chemical Engineering.
An interview with Richard Appelbaum describing the trip and the research team’s preliminary findings can be found on the CNS-UCSB website, at our 'Publications ' page. To arrange a personal interview with Appelbaum or the members of his team, contact him directly at rich@isber.ucsb.edu, or by phone at (805) 893-7230.
About CNS-UCSB
UCSB’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society is one of two national research centers funded by the National Science Foundation to study the social implications of nanotechnology. Its goal is to aid scientists and scholars, policy makers, and the public in better understanding key social factors that will affect the eventual success or failure of nanotechnology industries in the U.S. and abroad over the next decade. These include:
• Globalization and international collaborations in nanotechnology research and development operations
• The historical development of nanotechnology research enterprises
• Public risk perceptions of possible health and environmental risks posed by nanotechnology products, along with techniques for involving members of the public in efforts to reduce such risks
• Global news coverage and framing of nanotechnology products as social benefits or liabilities
• Uses of the Internet and other information technologies by nanotechnology advocacy and opposition groups to mobilize public opinion
• Group processes promoting creativity and innovation leading to technological breakthroughs by nanotechnology research groups.
About Nanotechnology
A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Research has shown that materials engineered at the scale of 1 to 100 nanometers have unique properties and unusual powers. Although understanding of nanotechnologies’ properties is still relatively in its infancy, scientists have suggested that nanotechnologies may someday lead to major breakthroughs in a broad range of applications, such as water filtration, solar energy, drug efficiency, computer processor speed, telecommunications, and security. The governments of a number of countries, including the United States and China, are pouring significant amounts of money into supporting nanotechnology research enterprises at universities and other laboratories. |
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Last Updated ( January 11, 2007 )
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