The International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) is an international, multi-stakeholder group committed to developing and communicating information regarding potential environmental and health risks of

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

, thereby fostering risk reduction while maximizing societal benefit. ICON is composed of individuals from

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, industry, government and

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s from countries of high nanotechnology research and development activity. ICON is a technically driven organization and does not engage in

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

or commercial activities.

History

ICON was founded in 2004 as an extension of the US

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas. CBEN was founded in 2001 as one of the first six federally funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers. There are now 16 of these NSECs. NSF research centers are expected to engage in a broad range of activities that bring the discoveries of the lab into the wider world. These activities typically include partnerships with industry for the purposes of technology transfer, graduate student training, and other commercialization goals. Recognizing that the issues of nanotechnology's risks and benefits have the ability to provoke considerable social controversy, CBEN's early industrial sponsors encouraged the creation of ICON as a way of engaging in a broader dialogue with groups likely to be affected by or active in the debate. After a start-up phase, ICON completed its first project in August 2005 with the web publication of a database on nanotechnology environmental, health and safety research (EHS).International Council on Nanotechnology – Resources – Research Summaries
Initially compiled by a team at

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...

for the Chemical Industry Consultative Board on Advancing Nanotechnology, the database was turned over to ICON in spring 2005 to maintain and make web accessible. Further refinements have been made to the database over the years, including weekly updates, better indexing and search functionalities, and a Virtual Journal of Nanotechnology Environment, Health and Safety interface. The Virtual Journal and database are now widely used by people around the world to find abstracts, citations and links to published research papers on nanotechnology EHS.

Activities

*Forums and events to explore health and environmental risk issues in nanotechnology *An electronic knowledge base for accessing peer-reviewed publications in nanotechnology *High-quality technical information relevant to decision makers in nanotechnology *A proactive communications platform that translates complex scientific data into material easily understood by many stakeholders

Major Projects

*Environment, Health & Safety Database and Virtual Journal *Survey of Current Practices for Handling Nanomaterials in Occupational Settings *International Research Needs Assessment for Nanomaterial Environment, Health & Safety

References

External links

The International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON)Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN)Virtual Journal of Nanotechnology Environment, Health and SafetySmalley Institute Centers and Affiliates
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Council On Nanotechnology Rice University Nanotechnology institutions