Nanotechnology: significance and impact in science, industry and society
Aim
To consider the social, economic and environmental implications of nanotechnology, particularly before the backdrop of the competitiveness of modern technology-driven societies.
Project description
Thematic focus on interdisciplinary aspects of nanotechnology, including questions of material science for high-tech applications and innovative diagnostic and treatment procedures in nanomedicine
Past and future activities
- 30 May 2007: public lecture on the "Opportunities and risks of nanotechnology" by Wolfgang Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, during the International Nanoscience Symposium in Hamburg
- 2008: organisation of the event "Citizens’ dialogue on NanoCare - the safe production of nanomaterials" in cooperation with the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg (INCH)
- 2010: production of a 25-minute film entitled "Nanotechnology: small particles - big effec" (available in German and English)
Topics:
- What exactly is nanotechnology?
- How will nanotechnology change our lives?
- Will there soon be self-repairing materials and new energy-saving technology that make a decisive contribution to environmental protection?
- Will nanotechnology in future open up opportunities for the early detection of cancer and its cure?
- Questions on the risks associated with this technology - 22 to 23 May 2013: public symposium in honour of Otto Stern with seven winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, physics or medicine
Topics:
- Life and works of Otto Stern
- Significance of Stern’s discoveries
- Link between historical aspects and the contents and visions of modern-day research for the general public - 18 to19 September 2015: opening of the permanent exhibition in Hamburg entitled "Nanotechnology – enter into new worlds" ["Nanotechnologie – Aufbruch in neuen Welten"] combined with a lecture programme and laboratory tours · Concentration on individual, highly visible projects. Intensification of the successful cooperation with regional nanotechnology associations, collaborative research centres and the Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI) cluster of excellence.
- Summer semester 2016: Academy lecture series on "Nanotechnology in Hamburg"
