Tag Archives: Ajit Jilavenkatesa

Nanotechnology Standards Database announced by American National Standards Institute

The ANSI-NSP (American National Standards Institute Nanotechnology Standards Panel) Nanotechnology Standards Database announced in a July 30, 2013 news item on Nanowerk is in the early stages,

The American National Standards Institute Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) is pleased to announce the launch of a new database compiling information about nanotechnology-related standards and affiliated activities. The creation of the database, which was first discussed during a February 2013 meeting of the ANSI-NSP in Washington, DC, is part of a larger ongoing effort by the ANSI-NSP and its members and partners to bolster the visibility of existing and in-development nanomaterials and nanotechnology guidance documents, reference materials, and standards.

“Standards have a significant impact when they are broadly used. This database will be a valuable tool that can enable information sharing and raise awareness about available standards or those under development and can play an important role in furthering the responsible development and commercialization of nanotechnology,” said ANSI-NSP co-chair Ajit Jilavenkatesa, Ph.D., senior standards policy advisor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC).

I have visited the ANSI-NSP Nanotechnology Standards Database website and found a few entries for both published and unpublished documents already populating it. This database does not host the documents themselves as per the entry form for published documents,

This form is intended to capture information on those published documents (i.e., standards, guidelines, and regulations) that relate to nanotechnology and nanotechnology-related applications.

Note: this NSP Standards Database is not for uploading or collecting the standards or documents themselves, but rather seeking relevant information regarding such documents. If you wish to provide a link for users to access specific documents or standards, a form field has been provided.

The NSP Standards Database will play a key role in assessing the current nanotechnology standardization landscape and help identify potential gaps in recognized standards needs. We thank you for contributing to the success of this initiative.

This looks to be a voluntary and international effort (some ISO documents are listed). It’s not clear if there is going to be any oversight, e.g., checking that the data in the entry form is correct, updating entries over time, etc.

Here’s a little more about the NSP (which hints at why they’d be interested in developing and hosting this database),

The American National Standards Institute’s Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) serves as the cross-sector coordinating body for the purposes of facilitating the development of standards in the area of nanotechnology including, but not limited to, nomenclature/terminology; health, safety and environmental aspects; materials properties; and testing, measurement and characterization procedures.

I wish them good luck with their effort. If this database works as hoped it could be a very useful tool.

American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) nanotechnology standards panel to meet in Februrary 2013 and one more standard

The American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Nanotechnology Standards Panel (NSP) was scheduled to meet in Oct. 2012 but Hurricane Sandy, which hit the eastern part of the continent at that time, necessitated rescheduling to Feb. 4, 2013 as per the Dec. 20, 2012 posting on Thomas.net,

Originally scheduled for October 30, 2012, ANSI’s Nanotechnology Standards Panel meeting was postponed as a result of Hurricane Sandy and will now be held on February 4, 2013. Meeting will examine how current nanotechnology standards are being utilized and how standards activities meet existing stakeholder needs. Benefits of participating in nanotechnology standardization and the possibilities for greater collaboration between stakeholders in this area will also be discussed.

The Dec. 14, 2012 ANSI news release provides more details about the Feb. 4, 2012 meeting to be held in Washington, DC,

The half-day meeting will examine how current nanotechnology standards are being utilized and how standards activities meet existing stakeholder needs. The benefits for companies, organizations, and other groups to participate in nanotechnology standardization and the possibilities for greater collaboration between stakeholders in this area will also be discussed.

Formed in 2004, ANSI’s NSP serves as the cross-sector coordinating body for the facilitation of standards development in the area of nanotechnology. Shaun Clancy, Ph.D., the director of product regulatory services for the Evonik Degussa Corporation, and Ajit Jilavenkatesa, Ph.D., the senior standards policy advisor for the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC), serve as the ANSI-NSP’s co-chairs.

… The ANSI-NSP works to provide a forum for standards developing organizations (SDOs), government entities, academia, and industry to identify needs and establish recommendations for the creation or updating of standards related to nanotechnology and nanomaterials. In addition, the ANSI-NSP solicits participation from nanotechnology-related groups that have not traditionally been involved in the voluntary consensus standards system, while also promoting cross-sector collaborative efforts.

Attendance at the February meeting is free. All attendees are required to register here for the meeting; individuals who registered for the October 2012 event must register again. [emphasis mine] For more information, visit the ANSI-NSP webpage or contact Heather Benko (hbenko@ansi.org), ANSI senior manager, nanotechnology standardization activities.

Standardization is one of the topics highlighted in Michael Berger’s Dec. 20, 2012 Nanowerk Spotlight article about environmental health and safety and a high-throughput screening (HTS) platform developed at the University of California’s Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN) that can perform toxicity screening of 24 metal oxide nanoparticles simultaneously,

According to the team, the HTS platform that has been demonstrated in this study could easily be adapted to study other nanomaterials of interest. The capability of HTS would also allow researchers to analyze multiple samples at different concentrations, time points, as well as varying experimental parameters – all in one setup. The standardization of the whole screening process by this HTS platform also minimizes human intervention and errors during the experiment.

I guess it’s the season for standardization. Ho, ho, ho!