Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

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Duke UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityHoward UniversityStanford UniversityUniversity of KentuckyVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityThis award establishes a Center to conduct research and education on the environmental impacts of nanomaterials. It will advance discovery of general principles that determine the movement and transformation of nanomaterials in the environment and their effects on organisms and ecosystems. The Center will further translate this knowledge into the language of risk assessment to guide nanotechnology in ways that minimize harm to the environment. This Center engages a highly interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team in integrated research to establish a theoretical understanding of how the physics and surface chemistry of nanomaterials determine their interactions with the environment, from the molecular level to that of entire ecosystems. The Center will develop new methods for detection and tracking of natural and manufactured nanomaterials in the environment. Information on nanomaterial properties and environmental impacts will be synthesized into models that can be used to predict environmental risk. Nanotechnology holds great promise both to the nation's economic growth and to enhance our ability to live in more sustainable ways. However, the responsible implementation of this technology is hampered by uncertainty over the environmental impacts of nanomaterials. There is an urgent societal need to understand this risk, while at the same time providing guidelines for safe design to prevent environmental harm. This Center will conduct the fundamental research necessary to reduce uncertainty in the environmental impacts of nanotechnology. It will contribute uniquely to a network of nanotechnology centers that serve the national needs. The Center will also promote interdisciplinary training of the next generation of nanoscale scientists and engineers in ways that broaden participation in the newly emerging field of environmental nanoscience. In collaboration with national laboratories, non-governmental organizations, and industry, the Center will further research and education goals and engage in outreach that informs both experts and the public at large about the safety issues surrounding nanotechnology