New Nanotech Observatory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 22, 2009 -- NanoTrendChart received €300 000 funds over a four year period from the French National Research Agency (ANR), a funding agency for research projects.

NanoTrendChart analyses different dimensions of the evolution of Nanosciences and technologies to support and guide firms, public decision makers, stakeholders etc. who have a vested interest in these developments.

“Our team of 12 researchers is creating a tool that will enable different key actors in the field to keep track of the worldwide evolution of nanotechnologies.

“Our objective is to produce a nanotech map to understand the socio-economic impact of nanotech developments” says project leader and professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, Vincent Mangematin.

The project-team deals with 3 basic questions:

• Where are nanosciences and technologies most developed? Asia, including China, is predictably an interesting track to follow.

• Who develops the nanosciences and technologies?

• Finally, the aim is to identify the scientific subfields where nanotechnologies have developed the most.

Vincent Mangematin said: “The tools that can help researchers produce hypotheses regarding these somewhat basic questions have been missing. This is why the observatory of nanosciences and technologies has been established: To analyse the world of nanotechnologies retrospectively in order to be able to characterize ongoing trends within this scientific field.”

*The four French institutions involved in the NanoTrendChart are: LATTS (Research group on
Technology, Territories and Societies), a joint research group of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and the University of Marne-la-Vallée; GAEL (Applied Economics Laboratory of Grenoble), a research unit under the INRA (the French National Institute for Agricultural Research) and the Pierre Mendès France University; Grenoble Ecole de Management and ESIEE Management

The Observatory’s findings and conclusions will be published in newsletters, biannual reports and scientific papers.

For further information: http://www.nanotrendchart.com