Preface The two volumes of this book are based on the successful Presidential symposium on “Nanotechnology: Delivering on the Promise”, which took place at the ACS Spring national meeting in Denver in March 2015. The symposium featured leading researchers in U.S. academia, industry and government labs as well as representatives of major U.S. funding and regulatory agencies. The topics covered included cutting-edge research on nanotechnology and useful information on product development, manufacturing and commercialization of selected nanotech products. Their reports noted impressive progress in all aspects of nanotechnology with a huge (and growing) number of publications and numerous products already in the marketplace. However, there were also some cautionary voices on the health, safety and environmental issues related to nanotechnology. Concurrently, all of the symposium speakers were invited to provide chapters to this ACS book. We were pleased that many of them did. Additional nanotechnology experts were also invited to submit manuscripts in order to strengthen the coverage of specific technical areas. A total of 25 chapters are included; for the reader’s convenience, this book is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 describes many U.S. government nanotechnology programs and issues relating to health, safety, environment, and regulation. Volume 2 contains four sections: energy and electronics, materials, bio/medical areas, and agriculture; these sections were authored by leading scientists in their fields. They cover promising developments, not only discoveries made in the laboratory, but also product development, collaborative research, manufacturing, and (in some cases) commercialization of nanotech products. Several chapters provide case histories that may be useful to people interested in the commercial aspects of nanotechnology. We appreciate the efforts of all the authors who took time to prepare their manuscripts and the many reviewers for their time and talent during the peer review process. Thanks are also due to the personnel at ACS Books, particularly Arlene Furman, Elizabeth Hernandez, Bob Hauserman, and Mary Calvert for their efficient handling of the manuscripts. We hope these volumes will stand out as a source of up-to-date information for researchers, a useful guide for practitioners interested in product development, and a handy reference for people who want to learn more about nanotechnology.
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H. N. Cheng, PhD Southern Regional Research Center USDA Agricultural Research Service 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70124
[email protected] Laurence J. Doemeny, PhD San Diego, CA
[email protected] Charles L. Geraci, PhD National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) 1090 Tusculum Avenue, C-14 Cincinnati, OH 45226
[email protected] Diane Grob Schmidt, PhD 2015 ACS President American Chemical Society 1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20036
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