Nanotechnology represents an exciting new area of scientific discovery, and has generated increasing interest from government officials, scientists, and the general public in recent years. This innovative field has a broad array of scientific and commercial applications – and an equally broad range of societal implications. The US has taken steps to encourage the study and diffusion of this technology, with its National Nanotechnology Initiative, but it is not alone in doing so. How will this new technology unfold? How will it spread, not only in the developed world, but also in the growing innovation centers of South and East Asia? What implications does this have for North Carolina, a well-known R&D center in other high-tech areas?

The CGGC’s Nanotechnology project is funded through a subcontract, issued by the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society to Duke University and its Global Value Chains Initiative. This joint research will focus on the diffusion of nanotechnology to China, South Korea, and Taiwan, and also innovations in nanotechnology in North Carolina.