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New resource examines questions about the role of nanoscience

August 6th, 2010

Nanoscience has garnered billions of dollars of funding and has been hailed as ushering in the Next Industrial Revolution. But, for such a richly anticipated field, it has made its way into products all around us - from odor-eating socks to cosmetics and medications - without much fanfare, while popular media entertain us with visions of nanotechnology as cornucopia or Armageddon. Somewhere in between are social scientists, ethicists and others reflecting on our understanding of the broad implications of nanotechnology, gauging its promises and risks, assessing the impacts of policy decisions, and communicating the meaning of nanoscience research. The newly-released two-volume Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society is the result. Edited by David H. Guston, the director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University, this resource isn't designed for the scientist or engineer, but rather for the rest of us who have plenty of questions about nanotechnology but are afraid to ask.

The Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society, published by SAGE Publications, Inc., contains approximately 425 signed entries by contributors from a variety of disciplines - sociology and psychology, economics and business, science and engineering, computing and information technology, philosophy, ethics, public policy, and more. They bring varied perspectives to the questions of nanotechnology in society in such general topic areas as: ethical issues; social issues; environmental issues; law, policy and regulation; agriculture and food safety; health, safety, and medical ethics; commercial and economic issues; educational and training issues; computing and information technology; philosophy and the human condition; national security and civil liberties; military uses and issues; converging technologies; risk assessment; and technology "haves" and "have-nots." The Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society, accessible and jargon-free, also includes helpful aids such as a chronology, a resource guide and a glossary.

Among the contributors to the Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society are 26 scholars from Arizona State University and beyond who are affiliated with the Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS-ASU), which is funded by the National Science Foundation:

Braden Allenby, ASU

Javiera Barandiaran, University of California, Berkeley

Daniel Barben, RWTH Aachen University

Troy Benn, ASU

Shannon Conley, ASU

Elizabeth A. Corley, ASU

Susan Cozzens, Georgia Tech

Erik Fisher, ASU

Patrick Hamlett, North Carolina State University

Matthew Harsh, ASU

Sean Hays, ASU

Shirley Ho, University of Wisconsin

Daniel Lee Kleinman, University of Wisconsin

Gary Marchant, ASU

Richard Milford, ASU

Mark Philbrick, University of California, Berkeley

Alan L. Porter, Georgia Tech

Juan D. Rogers, Georgia Tech

Cynthia Selin, ASU

Dietram Scheufele, University of Wisconsin

Philip Shapira, Georgia Tech

Catherine Slade, ASU and University of Georgia

Li Tang, Georgia Tech

Jue Wang, Florida International University

Jameson Wetmore, ASU

Gregor Wolbring, University of Calgary

Provided by Arizona State University

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