Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (2013) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Appendix E: Interim Report
Appendix E: Interim Report
Pages 139-174
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 139... ...
E Interim Report This appendix is a reprint of the main text of the National Research Council's Interim Report for the Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, Phase II (The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2012) by the Committee on Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative: Phase II.
|
From page 140... ...
2 or F another definition of nanotechnology, see, for example, National Research Council, A Matter of Size: Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006.
|
From page 141... ...
The committee recognizes the great difficulty in defining robust models and metrics for a field as diffuse as nanotechnology, for agencies as diverse as the 26 NNI participating agencies, and for goals as far-reaching and cross-cutting as the four NNI goals. However, the committee emphasizes that whatever models and metrics are applied must be rigorous and stand up fully to scientific scrutiny.
|
From page 142... ...
142 Triennial Review of the N at i o n a l N a n o t e c h n o l o g y I n i t i at i v e final report, the committee will provide recommendations based on the concepts presented in this interim document and will address Tasks 1 and 3 in addition to exploring Task 2 more fully.
|
From page 143... ...
In addition, the NNI has established five interagency signature initiatives, cross-sector collaborations designed to accelerate innovation in subjects of high national priority through coordination of multiagency resources to meet specific agreed-on scientific and technologic goals; to promote development of joint research solicitations; and to 3 ee National Science and Technology Council, National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan, S February 2011, available at http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/pub_resource/2011_ trategic_plan.
|
From page 144... ...
Each NNI participating agency is obliged to carry out its mission and achieve its goals while coordinating and collaborating with other agencies in subjects of mutual interest and mission need.4 To focus interagency collaboration in strategic fields, the NSET Subcommittee has established four cross-agency working groups: Global Issues in Nanotechnol ogy; Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications; Nanomanufactur ing, Industry Liaison, and Innovation; and Nanotechnology Public Engagement and Communications. The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO)
|
From page 145... ...
7 eport to the President and Congress on the Third Assessment of the National Nanotechnology R Initiative, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, March 2010. 8 ational Science and Technology Council, National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan, Feb N ruary 2011, available at http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/pub_resource/2011_strategic_plan.
|
From page 146... ...
11 ational Science and Technology Council, National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan, Feb N ruary 2011, available at http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/pub_resource/2011_strategic_plan.
|
From page 147... ...
. Those statements from three representative NNI participating agencies provide a view of what they regard as success for the NNI.
|
From page 148... ...
ccessed A April 24, 2012. and NIH seeks "new classes of nanotherapeutics and diagnostic biomarkers, tests, and devices." With respect to collaboration among NNI participating agencies, the 2011 NNI Strategic Plan identified specific subjects for close, targeted interaction, including nanotechnology signature areas, "to foster innovation and accelerate nanotechnology development."12 The NNI reports progress toward the four NNI goals annually in the NNI supplement to the president's budget as required by the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-153)
|
From page 149... ...
Research directed at identifying and quantifying the broad implications of nanotechnology for society, including social, economic, workforce, educational, ethical, and legal implications. SOURCE: National Science and Technology Council, National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan, Febru ary 2011, available at http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/pub_resource/2011_strategic_plan.pdf.
|
From page 150... ...
SOURCE: National Science and Technology Council, National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan, February 2011, available at http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/ pub_resource/2011_strategic_plan.pdf. Accessed 4/24/2012.
|
From page 151... ...
The DOD also invests in nanotechnology for advanced energetic m aterials, hotocatalytic coatings, active microelectronic devices, structural fibers, p strength- and toughness-enhancing additives, advanced processing, and a wide array of other promising applications. SOURCE: National Science and Technology Council, National Nanotechnology Initia tive Strategic Plan, February 2011, available at http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/pub_ resource/2011_strategic_plan.pdf.
|
From page 152... ...
However, progress toward achieving the four NNI goals is reported in largely anecdotal form. Several agencies provide examples of successful projects, some provide numerical data, 13 he National Nanotechnology Initiative, Supplement to the President's 2013 Budget.
|
From page 153... ...
That approach is consistent with how the NNI agen cies manage their overall portfolios, how they gather information to report to the president, and what is included in the NNI supplement to the president's budget. There is no common method or system across the NNI participating agen cies for measuring and tracking progress toward achieving the four NNI goals (see Box 1.1)
|
From page 154... ...
A good metric for output should be an accurate mea sure of whether the desired outcomes of an activity have been achieved -- outcomes that represent the value that the activity was intended to generate. In fact, however, many accepted quantitative metrics are used to measure what can be easily measured rather than the value created in the course of the activity.
|
From page 155... ...
projects have been included in their funding agencies' reported NNI program dollars. METRICS FOR ASSESSING THE National Nanotechnology Initiative -- SOME CONSIDERATIONS The NNI is being asked to establish metrics for quality improvement, that is, improvement of the NNI and its R&D system for addressing the four NNI goals, and contractual metrics, that is, regarding the effective customer-supplier contracts between, such as taxpayers and the government, Congress and the NNI, principal investigators or companies and the agencies, workers and those who regulate nano technology in the workplace, and consumers and agencies that are responsible for food and product safety.
|
From page 156... ...
Notwithstanding those issues, given the investment in and the scope of the NNI, quantitative and qualitative metrics can be applied to assess the impacts of NNI-related activity. Many major federal funders of nanotechnology research are working on the problem of defining a set of quantitative metrics that relate pro gram outputs to desired outcomes in arenas that overlap with the NNI.
|
From page 157... ...
The committee believes that it is important to select output and outcome metrics to minimize the burden on each agency of gathering and reporting data that are not central to its mission or that would require substantial added effort without substantial benefit to the NNI. The committee recognizes the great difficulty in defining robust models and metrics for a field as diffuse as nanotechnology and for agencies as diverse as the 26 NNI participating agencies.
|
From page 158... ...
That observation reflects the state of research that applies machine learning to social-science problems; advances in machine learning and automated inference from large datasets have proceeded rapidly, but validation of the calculated measures has lagged far behind. The lag esults from the difficulty of validation, which requires careful sampling of r adequate observations for field-work validation, such as interviews, surveys, and historical case studies; lack of collaboration between experts in quantitative data analysis and social-science field research methods; and lack of validated models that relate the output data to the desired outcomes.16 Although software algorithms and data-mining offer promising approaches to data collection, the committee believes that use of a specific set of keywords or field categories, identified by research investigators or program managers, could be improved sufficiently with relatively little effort to be useful for future data col lection.
|
From page 159... ...
In summary, the committee finds that strictly quantitative metrics of output are not by themselves dispositive in evaluating the success of the NNI in achieving its goals. Well-crafted qualitative and semiquantitative metrics and their review, supported by quantitative metrics, are more likely to be useful in producing evalu ations that measure success and can be applied in setting NNI goals and policy.
|
From page 160... ...
160 Triennial Review of the N at i o n a l N a n o t e c h n o l o g y I n i t i at i v e INPUTS OUTPUTS BENEFITS Long Term •Skilled workforce Funding •Venture •NIH Papers Patents capital •NSF •Pubmed •USPTO Short Term money •DOD •IEEE •EPO •Graduates •Corporate •Scopus •Phase 2 investment SBIR •Jobs •Standards •Products •Sales/ profits •Number of nanotech companies FIGURE 3.1 How inputs lead to outputs and, eventually, benefits: National Nanotechnology Initiative related research funded through federal agencies leads, in one mode of translation, to publications and patents, which in turn lead to societal benefits realized in the creation of new knowledge, products, companies, and jobs.
|
From page 161... ...
Definitions of success that might be applied to NNI Goal 1 include the following: •• A full spectrum of R&D, including fundamental research, "use-inspired" basic research, application-driven applied research, and technology devel opment is being supported. •• The NNI supports research that crosses boundaries -- research that is multiisciplinary, multi-institutional, multinational, multiagency, and d multisectoral (government-university-industry)
|
From page 162... ...
•• Spectrum of R&D assessment funded or supported, on the basis of expen ditures categorized according to the following: -- -- "Basic research," "applied research," or "technology development" based on definitions of the Office of Management and Budget or definitions similar to those used by the Department of Defense (DOD)
|
From page 163... ...
NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE GOAL 2: TO FOSTER THE TRANSFER OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES INTO PRODUCTS FOR COMMERCIAL AND PUBLIC BENEFIT A definition of success that might be applied to NNI Goal 2 is the development in the United States of vibrant, competitive, and sustainable industry sectors that use nanotechnology to enable the creation of new products; skilled, high-paying jobs; and economic growth. The committee is keenly aware of the different time frames associated with the transition from discovery to products that are related to the missions of the NNI participating agencies.
|
From page 164... ...
Possible metrics of progress toward success as defined above in achieving NNI Goal 2 are listed below. •• Growth of nanotechnology-related jobs.
|
From page 165... ...
In DOE, for example, NNI-related output includes user centers, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy grants and contracts, SBIR funding, and the establishment of the Energy Frontier Research Centers program. In addition, outputs represent a broad range of technology readiness levels, and this has implications for the amount of funding, time, and effort required to convert a discovery or an invention into a useful product.
|
From page 166... ...
NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE GOAL 3: TO DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, A SKILLED WORKFORCE, AND THE SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND TOOLS TO ADVANCE NANOTECHNOLOGY The 2011 NNI Strategic Plan notes that the development and sustainment of the infrastructural elements addressed by NNI Goal 3 are essential for delivering commercial and public benefit from NNI efforts. The Strategic Plan supplements Goal 3 with three objectives that are paraphrased here as workforce development, informal education activities, and physical infrastructure development.
|
From page 167... ...
•• Mass-media stories about nanotechnology activities in or related to NNI participating agencies. •• Use of current infrastructure, according to numbers and types of users, and the outcomes of use of the infrastructure.
|
From page 168... ...
firms, agencies or with institutions involved in nanotechnology could per haps be fairly viewed as expanding the skilled nanotechnology workforce, whether or not job listings specify nanotechnology skills. It is difficult to estimate the size of the current nanotechnology workforce, but the related issue of workforce growth in this segment, as estimated from periodic review of U.S.
|
From page 169... ...
Some such data are given in the 2011 report Assessment of Fifteen Nanotechnology Science and Engineering Centers' (NSECs) Outcomes and Impacts: Their Contribution to NNI Objectives and Goals.22 NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE GOAL 4: TO SUPPORT THE RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF NANOTECHNOLOGY NNI Goal 4 attempts "to assure that nanotechnology-enabled products mini mize adverse impacts and maximize benefits to humans and the environment." The NNI role in supporting responsible development includes investing in research on potential risks to health or the environment from nanomaterials and on societal aspects of the development of nanotechnology applications.
|
From page 170... ...
Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been a member of the NNI since 2004, it contributed to the NNI budget for the first time in 2011; this shows the increasing importance of Goal 4 as nano technology matures. Because of the complexity of NNI Goal 4, related definitions of success are particularly challenging to distill but may include the following: •• Development, updating, and implementation of a coordinated program of EHS research leads to development of tools and methods for risk char acterization and risk assessment in general -- including both hazards and the likelihood of exposure -- and supports expanding understanding of potential risks posed by broad classes of nanomaterials.
|
From page 171... ...
•• Number of NNI participating agency representatives at various interna tional forums. •• Compilation of commercialized or commercializable technologies.
|
From page 172... ...
Without both, measurements will have little value for program management. The committee recognizes the difficulty of defining robust models and metrics for a field as diffuse as nanotechnology, for agencies as diverse as the 26 NNI par ticipating agencies, and for goals as far-reaching as the four NNI goals.
|
From page 173... ...
It believes that metrics and models that relate metrics to outcomes of R&D can and should be developed for the NNI and other government programs. This interim report presents an overview of considerations related to the characteristics of good metrics.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.