Nanotechnology has produced no shortage of wonder materials, Buckyballs anyone? Trimetaspheres? Or even carbon nanotubes where producing them at anywhere near the cost that anyone would be willing to pay for them has been a struggle. The main problem with many nanomaterials is that while they may have wondrous properties, conductivity, tensile strength, the ability to cure cancer or …
Nanotechnology in the UK – You Have To Be In It To Win It
There has been plenty of discussion from all quarters about how the UK failed to grasp the significance of nanotechnology, and instead spent years fretting over heath and safety implications. Without any real nanotechnology related activity in UK industry, worrying about the potential downside is like spending all your time planning what you will do if you win the lottery. …
UK Nanotech to Willetts – We’re Doomed And We Don’t Give A Damn
The lack of any reaction to Fridays announcement that many of the UKs nanotech centres would be unlikely to survive is because it is old news. The Technology Strategy Board clarified the position by sending out the missive below: You may have seen the BBC reporting below. As far as I am concerned this relates to news that is over …
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 …
UK Nanotechnology Strategy Written By Dullards Or Dimwits?
Since the UK’s new nanotechnology strategy was launched I have been either having a crash course in regenerative medicine or getting over a cold. In the meantime, my colleagues Andrew Maynard and Dexter Johnson have both taken a long hard look at the ‘strategy’ and found it wanting. No, I’m being kind, the general consensus is that it is total …
“Something Should Be Done” – Nanotechnology: a UK Industry View
The new report “Nanotechnology: a UK Industry View” finally surfaced, and its recommendations are to spend more money, develop more skills, have more dialogue and..sorry, I must have nodded off, but it’s pretty standard stuff, and the recommendations are exactly the same as every other nanotech report produced over the past ten years. I have to question why we go …
UK Nanotech Stagnates?
Here’s an interesting snippet from an FT report about a forthcoming report by the UK Knowledge Transfer Network on nanotechnologies The report found that UK investment in nanotechnology was low. Per capita public funding was $1.96 (£1.20) in 2008, compared with $5.06 for the US and $6.07 for Germany. As we all know, getting reliable funding numbers is very tricky, …
Why Government Nanotechnology Policy is Ineffective
Browsing through various Twitter feeds this morning a couple of seemingly unrelated items caught my attention. The first was that the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was unable or unwilling to name his favourite biscuit, despite the questions being posed twelve times, thus exposing himself to understandable ridicule. His handlers later clarified the situation once they had seen this mornings …
Paid By The Word?
I’m slightly puzzled by this announcement from the TSB with the headline “Investment of just over GBP80m in innovative technologies announced at Innovate09” Did a committee of people deliberate whether “just over £80m” sounded better and clearer than a simple “£82.5 million” or were they just getting paid by the word?
Nanoscale Technology Strategy 2009-12
The UK’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has launched a new four year plan for nanoscale technologies. Google can’t seem to find it, but you can download the NanoscaleTechnologiesStrategy file here. The strategy aims to achieve the following objectives: – Further develop knowledge transfer and collaboration in the emerging field of nanoscale technologies between academia and industry – Encourage collaboration with Research …