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The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) posted on April 11, 2016, a blog item, authored by Lloyd Whitman, OSTP, and Dr. Treye Thomas, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), entitled “Supporting Responsible Development of Nanotechnology.”  The item states that the following reports released in March 2016 highlight federal investments and activities in the area of nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety (nanoEHS) research, progress, and needs in understanding...

On February 2, 2016, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published in the Federal Register a request for information (RFI) seeking examples of commercialization success stories stemming from U.S. government-funded nanotechnology research and development (R&D) since the inception of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in 2001.  OSTP states that the information gathered in response to this RFI may be used as examples to highlight the NNI’s...

On February 1, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the dates and locations for the second and third public engagement sessions that will discuss the July 2, 2015, memorandum entitled “Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products.”  The second public meeting will be held on March 9, 2016, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 6 office at 1445 Ross Avenue in Dallas, Texas.  The third public...

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) posted a blog item on January 25, 2016, on “Educating and Inspiring Students through Nanotechnology.”  The blog item states that to reap the benefits of nanotechnology, “we must train our Nation’s students for these high-tech jobs of the future.”  The blog item announces that a new six-part video series, “Nanotechnology:  Super Small Science,” shows how to educate and inspire students though nanotechnology.  The...

There is still no definitive answer as to whether the green/sustainable chemistry provisions in S. 697, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, will survive the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives conference committee process as lawmakers confer and prepare the final compromise legislation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform bill.  Passed by the Senate on December 17, 2015, S.697 includes sustainable chemistry provisions in Section 27 entitled...

On October 16, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced in the Federal Register a public meeting to be held on October 30, 2015, to discuss Clarifying Current Roles and Responsibilities Described in the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology and Developing a Long-Term Strategy for the...

In a bit of a surprise announcement, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Council on Environmental Quality released a memorandum on July 2, 2015, directing three federal agencies with jurisdiction over products of biotechnology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update...

On June 17, 2015, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a request for information (RFI) seeking suggestions for “Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade.” The Federal Register notice states: “A Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge should be an ambitious but achievable goal that harnesses nanoscience, nanotechnology, and innovation to solve important national or global problems and has the potential to capture the public’s...

On May 19-20, 2015, the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA) held its 2015 DC Roundtable.  The National Economic Council (NEC) and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) invited participants to attend a May 20, 2015, White House Forum on Small Business Challenges to Commercializing Nanotechnology.  During the forum, participants discussed small business challenges to commercializing nanotechnology, with an emphasis on how private-sector led collaborations...

On June 9, 2011, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that the White House Emerging Technologies Interagency Policy Coordination Committee (ETIPC) has developed a set of principles specific to the regulation and oversight of applications of nanotechnology. The principles are intended to guide the development and implementation of policies, as described in the title “U.S. Decision-making Concerning Regulation and Oversight of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials” that...