Governance, policy, and legislation of nanotechnology: a perspective

Nanotechnology refers to technology done at nanoscale that has applications in the real world. Unique physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials can be exploited for applications that benefit society. Nanotechnology represents a “megatrend” and has become a “general purpose” technology. An executive action of 2000, the National Nanotechnology Initiative was formalized with the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act in 2003. Through FY2015, federal R&D investment has been about $20 billion, with annual investment in FY2015 of about $1.5B, and more than double that by the private sector. The revenues from nano-enabled products continue growing, with over $200B in FY2012 in the US alone. This represents an impressive return on investment. Reauthorization of the Initiative is needed to address concerns, including emphasis on commercialization. Research on potential safety issues of nanotechnology, development of workforce, and curriculum should be continued. In this paper, we present governance, policy, and legislation of nanotechnology.