I have been in & out of Spain, running companies, getting married, having children, closing companies and more for almost two decades, so the unrelentingly grim news from the Spanish economy is particularly unwelcome. While I was living in Spain I argued vociferously for more investment in translational research, but found myself working with two communities with no incentive to …
What Use Is Nanotechnology?
Technology Review, besides being a great magazine edited by Jason Pontin, who I have known since the heyday of Red Herring, also puts on some great conferences. So I was excited and honoured to be invited to EmTech Spain, a two day conference in Malaga focussing on emerging technologies. Along with my World Economic Forum colleague Javier García Martínez of …
The Russians Are Coming!
Or rather everyone involved in nanotech is beating a path to Russia and their new high tech cluster at Skolkovo. Not letting the grass grow under feet after splashing out a billion dollars on deals for Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) from Crocus Technology and $700 million on organic electronics with Plastic Logic, to coincide with the St Petersburg International Economic …
Where Are the Techopreneurs?
Travelling always gives you something new, and my business vocabulary is infused with phrases I have picked up around the world. One of my favourites is something you hear a lot in Singapore, ‘technopreneur’, a concatenation of technology and entrepreneur, but merging the two words seems to give it an added zing. At the moment science and technology are moving …
What Is A Nanomaterial? The European Commission Wants To Know
The first part of any legal document is concerned with defining the terms used, what do terms such as ‘the company’ or ‘the client’ refer to for example. Most of these issues are fairly straightforward, but when you get to the level of international legislation defining terms becomes rather more complex, as the European Commission is just finding out. After …
Stop Dithering Over Nanotech Regulation
Reading reports of government plans for the regulation of nanotechnology sometimes feels like being on death row. The outcome is inevitable, and all you can do is hope that it will be short and painless. The European Commission has been debating regulations for the best part of a decade,and now apparently has been given a deadline of 2011 by the …
Nanotech and Formula One – Is It Legal?
At last weeks Nanotechnology for High performance Motorsport meeting, one of the participants, from a Formula One team, commented that he thought the current FIA regulations precluded the use of nanomaterials. A bit of digging around in the current regulations (thanks to Chris Walker for unearthing this) only finds the following prohibition on using carbon nanotubes incorporated within carbon fibres, although …
First Contact With Nanotech Needs Sizzle?
Something was troubling me as I drove home from yesterdays Nanotechnology Innovations for High Performance Motorsport 2010 meeting, and it took me until this morning to put my finger on the niggle. While we often criticise those who over hype nanotechnology, trillion dollar markets, space elevators, curing cancer etc, many scientists are perhaps guilty of being over pragmatic about nanotech, and …
The Death of UK Nanotech Part 2
Today’s announcement by the UK Science Minister David Willets that it is “most unlikely” that the UKs 24 nanotech centres would still be open in 18 months comes as no surprise to anyone who has visited them. I was lucky to have been involved in the set up of several of the centres, and while there is some great work …
“This UK nanotech industry is dead” – No it’s not, it’s just resting!
The best barometer of the health of the economy is often taxi drivers, but if you want to know the health of the UK Nanotechnology ‘Industry’ an event in London this month probably tells you all you need to know. This exciting FREE one-day event is targeted at senior representatives from: companies involved in nanotechnology; or looking to develop new …