It’s going to be a bit scattershot today and probably for the next while as I’m having to rearrange my schedules to accommodate the Olympics, which start on Friday but the disruptions are beginning as of today.

First off, the FramingNano Project (which is part of the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme [FP7]) is holding a series of public consultation events on nanotechnology and governance. From the news item on MTB Europe,

The FramingNano UK Event, to be held in London on 11 February, provides a unique opportunity to explore the key issues of nanotechnology governance and to discuss possible new governance models. The Event will be of interest to all concerned with the responsible development of this vitally important enabling technology.

With more than 1000 consumer products containing nanomaterials on the market worldwide there is a more urgent need than ever for an effective framework of governance that ensures public safety and environmental protection whilst at the same time facilitating a responsible development of nanotechnology and promoting innovation.

Further FramingNano consultation events will be held in:

• Czech Republic (Prague): 2 March 2010
• The Netherlands (Amersfoort): 9 March 2010
• Bern, Switzerland, 18 March 2010
• Frankfurt, Germany, 24 March 2010
• Italy (Rome): date to be confirmed

The FramingNano UK Event is free to attend but requires online registration at http://www.framingnano.eu/

There seems to be a lot of public consultation in Europe and I’m not hearing much about it elsewhere except maybe Australia. From the news item on Nanowerk,

Last November, the Australian Secretary for Health released a public discussion paper (pdf download) inviting consultations on a Government proposal to strengthen regulation of industrial nanomaterials use in Australia.

The deadline for submissions regarding the discussion paper is 5pm this Friday, February 12, and need to be sent to Nicola.Hall@health.gov.au by.

The discussion paper proposes specific regulatory measures for the emerging field of nanotechnology in industrial chemicals.

There doesn’t seem to be as much interest in public consultation in the US but I do see interest in education about nanotechnology. A member of the US House of Representatives, David Yu has recently introduced a bill for a Nanotechnology Education Act. Amongst the proposed act’s goals (from the news item on Nanowerk),

In order to maximize the benefits of nanotechnology to individuals in the United States, the United States must maintain world leadership in the field, including nanoscience and microtechnology, in the face of determined competition from other nations.

To maintain world leadership in nanotechnology, the United States must make a long-term investment in educating United States students in secondary schools and institutions of higher education, so that the students are able to conduct nanoscience research and develop and commercialize nanotechnology applications.

Preparing United States students for careers in nanotechnology, including nanoscience, requires that the students have access to the necessary scientific tools, including scanning electron microscopes designed for teaching, and requires training to enable teachers and professors to use those tools in the classroom and the laboratory.

As for Canada, I’m not aware of any great movement towards public consultation about or education in the field of nanotechnology.

Let there be light for my final bit (from the news item on Azonano),

RTI International has developed a revolutionary lighting technology that is more energy efficient than the common incandescent light bulb and does not contain mercury, making it safer than the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb. At the core of RTI’s breakthrough is an advanced nanofiber structure that provides exceptional lighting management.

That’s it.