NanoWeek attracts doers and investors

If you don't know where your business is going next year, don't feel bad. You're not alone. NASA doesn't know where it's going either.

Nanotechnology is blowing their neat strategic plans. Its power and potential are making planning for the future an exercise in guessing. Between the developing regulatory side, the ethical considerations, and the vast, nearly unlimited adventure that nano will make possible, nobody is riding a smooth scenario into the near future.

Cleveland can be proud that the NanoNetwork people, spearheaded by VC guru Mark Brandt of the Maple Fund, attracted such an impressive collection nano-stars from higher education and industry in addition to potential nantech investors for this week of events. Scientists and executives from the aerospace industry, nanoscientists from all over the world, and representatives from a slew of universities with nano departments were in Cleveland yesterday for the opening salvos of NanoWeek.

I attended some of the technical sessions and was blown away by the physics and chemistry ideas being bandied about. Early overarching impression is that everybody's concerned about the completely unknown potential of nanoparticles to screw up life on this planet. Protective measure are being taken; labs are built as "clean" environments and, at Cornell for example, researchers take the nominal step of wearing blue suits, headcoverings and gloves, but their faces are completely uncovered.

If you've read elsewhere, or even some of my posts over on BioMedNews.org about nano technology, you know that the potential for good is incredible--even unimaginable at this early stage. And its potential for damage is equally vast and as yet mostly uncharted. Boeing and others told us yesterday that they will be demanding that any vendor that wants to supply them with nano-super-hardened materials for parts has to produce proof that what they're selling has passed stringent tests for safety during machining and other processes.

Problem is, nobody's yet sure how to structure tests that will give that solid assurance. Just as when the human race discovered fire and atomic energy--what we don't know most definitely can kill us.

Today's tech sessions are on the automotive industry. More later.