Tag Archives: Paul Youngman

Comparing US and German reception of nanotechnology

There’s a tv (television) newsmagazine show devoted to nanotechnology that’s broadcast amongst other news shows in Germany according to an Aug. 8, 2013 news item on Azonano,

As Paul Youngman, professor of German at Washington and Lee (W&L) University, and student researchers Matthew Bittner and Curtis Correll learned this summer, your perception of nanotechnology—the manipulation of extremely small particles to make materials and machines—may depend on where you live.

In Germany, the scientific newsmagazine Nano spotlights nanoscience and emerging technologies. The show airs alongside other news programs. [emphasis mine] In the U.S., nanoscience is not featured regularly in the news. When U.S. broadcasters do run nanoscience stories, the coverage tends to be more sensational, said Bittner, whose research was funded by the W&L German Department.

“The Germans will look more at the short-term effect of science and technology—more realistic expectations,” said Bittner. American shows, while realistic, tend to look further into the future, and they highlight the most breathtaking possibilities.

The Aug. 7, 2013 W&L press release by Jeff Hanna, which originated the news item, notes that Youngman’s research is providing the basis for a forthcoming book,

“Nanotechnology is an emerging science that we don’t completely have a handle on, and our premise is always that science is never divorced from the larger culture at hand,” said Youngman. “What we’re doing is analyzing the cultural reception of nanotechnology as it exists right now. It’s a comparative study between German and U.S. reception.”

Rhetoric and public perception affect how nanotechnology is funded and regulated. Youngman’s book-in-progress, “National Nanotechnologies: Nanodiscourse in Germany and the United States,” compares rhetoric from a variety of sources in both countries. The book also examines nano imagery.

He focuses on Germany and the U.S. because they are the largest investors in nanoscience and technology (NST) in the European Union and North America, and the countries have partnered on numerous commercial and academic NST endeavors. Youngman is collaborating with Ljiljana Fruk, group leader at the Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) in Karlsruhe, Germany.

As noted in the press release, Youngman’s book, in additiion to rhetoric, is also examining nano imagery,

Curtis Correll, an economics and German and double major, from Memphis, Tenn., spent several weeks at CFN in Karlsruhe studying the ethics, usefulness and reliability of nano imagery. …

Correll watched an atomic force microscope (AFM) create nano images, a process called scanning probing microscopy. A probe uses electromagnetic waves to create a relief image of the nanoparticles, which are smaller than a wavelength of light and invisible to the human eye. This image is processed by computer software, which creates a final likeness.

“Some people call into question whether these images are truly reliable because they’re not raw data,” said Correll. Nano imagery initially appears in black and white. Scientists add colors and shadows to create contrasts for easier viewing. The choice of colors, however, can affect how the image is received.

There appears to be a misunderstanding, scanning probe microscopy includes both AFM and scanning tunneling microscopy amongst other forms of microscopy used at the nanoscale.  As for the process of creating nano images, it’s my understanding all microscopy at that scale employs software which renders data into images and some of these images are further ‘enhanced’ either for artistic purposes and/or to illustrate a particular point.

I am a little surprised to learn that Germany spends the most on nanoscience research as compared to other European countries. For some reason I thought that distinction belonged to the UK.  Nice to have my misassumptions corrected.