Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

杜克大学卡内基梅隆大学霍华德大学斯坦福大学肯塔基大学弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学该奖项建立了一个研究和教育纳米材料对环境影响的中心。它将推动发现决定纳米材料在环境中的移动和转化及其对生物体和生态系统的影响的一般原理。该中心将进一步将这些知识转化为风险评估的语言，以指导纳米技术将对环境的损害降至最低。该中心在综合研究中加入了一个高度跨学科、多机构的团队，以建立对纳米材料的物理和表面化学如何决定其与环境的相互作用的理论理解，从分子水平到整个生态系统。该中心将开发新的方法来检测和跟踪环境中的天然和人造纳米材料。有关纳米材料特性和环境影响的信息将被合成到可用于预测环境风险的模型中。纳米技术对国家的经济增长和提高我们以更可持续的方式生活的能力都有着巨大的希望。然而，由于纳米材料对环境的影响的不确定性，这项技术的负责任的实施受到阻碍。社会迫切需要了解这种风险，同时为安全设计提供指导方针，以防止环境损害。该中心将进行必要的基础研究，以减少纳米技术对环境影响的不确定性。它将为服务于国家需求的纳米技术中心网络做出独特贡献。该中心还将促进对下一代纳米科学家和工程师的跨学科培训，以扩大对新兴环境纳米科学领域的参与。该中心将与国家实验室、非政府组织和工业界合作，进一步推进研究和教育目标，并开展外联活动，向专家和广大公众通报围绕纳米技术的安全问题

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