Carl Batt testifies before House committee on nanotech research

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

Carl A. Batt, co-director of the Cornell Nanobiotechnology Center, was one of several witnesses before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, March 19, who endorsed the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 (H.R. 766). Passage of the bill could be a significant step toward developing important advancements in science and germinating new industries based on those advancements.

Carl Batt, second from right, Cornell professor of food science and co-director of the Cornell Nanobiotechnology Center, testifies March 19 before the House Committee on Science in Washington, D.C. Heidi Mohlman Tringe/House Committee on Science

Nanotechnology is not just an exercise in fancy science, Batt, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Food Science at Cornell, told the committee in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.: "It will have a significant impact on industry and society as a whole," he said. "It will provide novel medical therapies, help to survey and protect the environment, make unique materials that have enhanced properties and lead to a new generation of manufacturing capabilities that will simply revolutionize and revitalize American industry." But, he pointed out, "Significant investment in research and development is needed especially in the academic sector."

While the impact of nanotechnology is significant for new and existing industries, the future economic potential is enormous, Batt said. "It is estimated that nanotechnology will have a one trillion dollar impact on the global economy in the next decade." He explained that existing industries would see their product lines and manufacturing practices influenced by nanotechnology.

House Science Committee Chairman Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) introduced the house bill. Sens. George Allen (R-Va.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sponsored a companion bill (S. 189) in the U.S. Senate.

The bill authorizes $2.1 billion over three years for nanotechnology research and development programs at the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to establishing a research program to address societal and ethical concerns, the bill responds to a recent National Academy of Sciences report by establishing a presidential-appointed advisory committee and a committee headed by the Office of Science and Technology Policy to promote interagency coordination.

Several science, technology and business organizations have endorsed the bill. In addition, New York Gov. George Pataki and the campuses of the State University of New York system have endorsed it.

Witnesses agreed that there are societal and ethical concerns with nanotechnology, but said some of those concerns have been exaggerated in fiction and the popular press. Batt testified, "History shows that most of the dangers to society that result from the misuse of technology arise not from state-of-the-art technology, but more mundane technology in the hands of opportunists."

And as witnesses praised provisions in the Boehlert-Honda bill aimed at addressing societal and ethical concerns, Batt pointed out that Cornell has been engaged in an extensive education program to enlighten the public on nanotechnology issues.