David Guston
Nanotechnology (the ability to manipulate matter on the scale of atoms and molecules) has become the Holy Grail of the global science community. It's been hailed as holding the potential cure for all that ails us from pollution cleanup and energy savings to cures for cancer.
So far, however, the hope for nano hasn't lived up to the hype, says David Guston. He is director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS-ASU), a consortium at Arizona State University that studies the societal implications of nanoscale science and engineering research.
Guston points out that nano-based materials already have found their way into more than 200 consumer products. But the list is less than inspiring: stain-resistant Brooks Brothers ties and Eddie Bauer khaki pants, face creams, skis, more durable tennis balls, translucent sunscreen lotions and kitchen paint. Such products fall far short of fulfilling nano's promise, he observes. “Although it's billed as such, we have no idea whether or not nanotechnology will be a revolution,” Guston says. “It takes more than the knowledge-based technology itself to transform society. There are a whole host of things that go into an innovation beyond the knowledge from the scientists and the technical materials.”
In partnership with the CNS-ASU, three InnovationSpace teams will be exploring the potential of nano to serve the loftier aim of societal transformation. In the 2006-7 school year, students will focus on creating innovative, nano-based applications that enhance the freedom, privacy and security of citizens and communities.
A special challenge for students, Guston observes, is working with a technology so small that it can't be “seen” through conventional means such as microscopes. This miniscule scale allows nanotechnology to be used in potentially fantastical ways. Take the use of nanoparticles in sensors, for example. One of Guston's favorite scenarios for future nanotechnology is embedding sensors in flooring materials such as carpet or tile. These sensors could track the movement of patients in an Alzheimer's ward, guide visitors on tours through art museums or monitor personnel in a secured military facility. Invisible nano sensors could also someday be folded into interior wall paints for more insidious purposes such as eavesdropping on conversations.
But a nano-based product need not be high-tech, Guston says, to “make things a bit better in the world. It can be profound even in its smallness.” What matters is that students carefully weigh the needs of their users and those of society in developing new products.
“If decisions about science and technology are not made well, then a whole host of terrible things can happen,” Guston observes. “And making them well really raises the possibility of doing tremendous and wonderful things for everyone across the globe, improving ourselves not just materially but also in how we get along with one another and how society flourishes. Making good decisions about emerging technologies is an absolutely critical endeavor.”
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