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Energy Challenges, Nanotech Solutions?

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Energy Challenges, Nanotech Solutions?

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Overview
Energy Challenges, Nanotech Solutions?
Brad Herring [3]
NISE Network product
image/jpeg iconiStock_000007825813Small.jpg [4]

Description: 

This forum places participants in the role of a governmental funding agency and asks them to consider how nanotechnology should fit into the timeline and scope of future national energy policy. A scientific expert begins the forum by providing a brief intro to nanotechnology and describing some of its potential benefits and possible uncertainties. A short video follows with three expert perspectives who discuss three possible energy funding strategies: Nanotechnology-dependent energy technologies. Existing alternative energy technologies. Conservation and energy efficiency. The participants are then asked to consider how they would allocate $100 million of hypothetical research and implementation funding between the strategies. Discussion cards describing various hypothetical scenarios are then presented to the groups, and the groups are asked to consider whether and how these scenarios might change their funding allocations.
Objectives

Big Idea: 

Given the potential energy benefits as well as the unknown environmental and health risks and the uncertainties associated with nanotechnology, how should nanotechnology research fit into domestic energy policies in the near future?

NISE Net Content Map: 

  • Nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering lead to new knowledge and innovations that weren't possible before.
  • Nanotechnologies have costs, risks, and benefits that affect our lives in ways we cannot always predict.
Credits

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Checklist

Scientist reviewed? check_reviewed
Peer reviewed? check_reviewed
Visitor evaluation? check_reviewed

Nano Topics

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Audience

[6]

Tags

[7], [8], [9], [10], [11]

Permissions

Creative Commons license image [12]
Creative Commons
Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Catalog section: 

Forums

Nano topics: 

Energy and environment

Audience: 

19 and up

Content keywords: 

society
policy
economics
Environment
forums

Highlight this product during NanoDays?: 

0

K-12: 

0
Resources
Download zip file [2]

Download all files (ZIP) [2]

Files: 

application/pdf iconEnergy Challenges Guide [13]
application/pdf iconEnergy Challenges Instructions [14]
application/pdf iconEnergy Challenges Cards [15]
application/pdf iconNISE Net Forums Manual [16]

Links: 

See FAQ #10 to learn more about downloading NISE Net video [17]
Existing Alternative Energy Technology: An Interview with Stephen R. Connors, MIT [18]
Conservation and Education: An Interview with J. Drake Hamilton, Fresh Energy [19]
Nanotechnology: An Interview with James E. Hutchison, University of Oregon [20]
More about Forums and Science Cafes [21]
Evaluations
Comments

We have run this forum twice [22]

Submitted by David Sittenfeld [23] on Tue, 03/17/2009 - 12:19.

We have run this forum two times thus far, once at the Museum of Science and once offsite at Northeastern University. The nice thing about the forum is that we only needed to get one speaker to deliver an intro to nanotech (we used a Museum educator both times), because the various policy/societal aspects are handled by the folks in the video.

People seemed to enjoy considering the situations posed to them by the discussion cards. Most of them would have stayed longer if we had allowed it. The content is interesting to people but some folks had concerns that we were not giving them enough detail as to what their hypothetical research/implementation funding dollars might buy them.

Please feel free to contact me if you need help with the videos or any logistics in planning this forum.

- David Sittenfeld...
Museum of Science, Boston

Source URL: http://nisenet.org/catalog/forums/energy_challenges_nanotech_solutions

Links:
[1] http://nisenet.org/catalog/forums
[2] http://nisenet.org/node/2529/filefield_compress/all
[3] http://nisenet.org/users/brad-herring
[4] http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/images/catalog/2529/iStock_000007825813Small.jpg
[5] http://nisenet.org/category/nano-interests/energy-environment
[6] http://nisenet.org/category/audience/19
[7] http://nisenet.org/category/content-keywords/society
[8] http://nisenet.org/catalog/topics/policy
[9] http://nisenet.org/catalog/topics/economics
[10] http://nisenet.org/catalog/topics/environment
[11] http://nisenet.org/catalog/topics/forums
[12] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/
[13] http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/EnergyChallenges_Guide_May10.pdf
[14] http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/EnergyChallenges_Instructions_May10.pdf
[15] http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/EnergyChallenges_Cards_May10_0.pdf
[16] http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/catalog/uploads/2529/NISENet_ForumsManual_May10.pdf
[17] http://www.nisenet.org/support
[18] http://vimeo.com/channels/nisenet#24325908
[19] http://vimeo.com/channels/nisenet#24325926
[20] http://vimeo.com/channels/nisenet#24325935
[21] http://www.nisenet.org/community/groups/forums
[22] http://nisenet.org/print/2529#comment-81
[23] http://nisenet.org/users/david_sittenfeld
[24] http://nisenet.org/user/login?destination=node%2F2529%23comment-form
[25] http://nisenet.org/user/register?destination=node%2F2529%23comment-form