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12:20March 15, 2024
Article

Two U.S. Government Experts to Join Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies

The newly launched Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies announced today that two U.S. government experts are joining the Project---Andrew Maynard, Ph.D., an internationally recognized authority on the health implications of nanotechnology and Julia A. Moore, senior advisor in the National Science Foundation's Office of International Science and Engineering.

The newly launched Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies announced today that two U.S. government experts are joining the Project. Andrew Maynard, Ph.D., an internationally recognized authority on the health implications of nanotechnology who is currently with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will be the Project's new science advisor. Julia A. Moore, now senior advisor in the National Science Foundation's Office of International Science and Engineering, is its new deputy director.

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies was launched in April 2005 by Pew Charitable Trusts and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. It is a two-year, $3-million initiative designed to help businesses, governments, and the public anticipate and manage the possible health and environmental implications of nanotechnology.

Project Director and science policy expert David Rejeski, stated that "Nanotechnology is no less significant than the Industrial Revolution of more than a century ago. But only a relatively small number of people understand its policy implications. Maynard and Moore are among the best."

Andrew Maynard was highly influential in developing NIOSH's nanotechnology research program, which is leading ground-breaking research in occupational ultrafine and nanotechnology-related aerosol exposure health effects and control. He co-chairs a U.S. government interagency group on nanotechnology, health and the environment, and he represents NIOSH on the Nanomaterial Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council. In addition, Maynard chairs the International Standards Organization Working Group on size selective sampling in the workplace.

Maynard trained as a physicist at Birmingham University in Great Britain. After completing a Ph.D. in ultrafine aerosol analysis at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University (UK), he joined the aerosols research group of the UK Health and Safety Executive. His expertise spans all aspects of aerosol characterization, from occupational aerosol sampler design to state-of-the art nanoparticle analysis, as reflected in over 35 peer-reviewed publications.

Julia Moore has more than 20 years experience working on the Congressional, public affairs, and public policy aspects of international science, technology, and security issues. During 2001-2003, she was a public policy scholar at the Wilson Center conducting research on the genetically-modified food controversy. She examined the lessons learned from this debate for 21st century science and technology policymakers, including those decisionmakers involved in the area of nanotechnology.

Her previous positions include: director, Legislative and Public Affairs, National Science Foundation; executive director, Physicians for Social Responsibility; and communications vice president, World Wildlife Fund-US. Moore served over a decade with the US Department of State. She is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Nanoscience is the study of the fundamental principles of molecules and structures with at least one dimension roughly between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, and a human hair measures approximately 50,000 nanometers across. Nanotechnology is the application of these nanostructures into useful nanoscale devices.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) predicts that the market for nanotech products and services will reach $1 trillion by 2015. Scientists and engineers, supported by an annual $1 billion federal investment, are working to harness the technology to help provide the world with sustainable energy, quantum computing, and drugs to treat cancerous tumors before they metastasize. Eventually, nanotechnology is expected to affect virtually every aspect of our day-to-day lives and to transform almost every area of the economy.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is a national charitable organization serving the public interest by informing the public, advancing policy situations and supporting civic life. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, DC. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue.

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