§ 7501 — National Nanotechnology Program

(a) The President shall implement a National Nanotechnology Program. Through appropriate agencies, councils, and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office established in section 7502 of this title, the Program shall— (1) establish the goals, priorities, and metrics for evaluation for Federal nanotechnology research, development, and other activities; (2) invest in Federal research and development programs in nanotechnology and related sciences to achieve those goals; and (3) provide for interagency coordination of Federal nanotechnology research, development, and other activities undertaken pursuant to the Program. (b) The activities of the Program shall include— (1) developing a fundamental understanding of matter that enables control and manipulation at the nanoscale; (2) providing grants to individual investigators and interdisciplinary teams of investigators; (3) establishing a network of advanced technology user facilities and centers; (4) establishing, on a merit-reviewed and competitive basis, interdisciplinary nanotechnology research centers, which shall— (A) interact and collaborate to foster the exchange of technical information and best practices; (B) involve academic institutions or national laboratories and other partners, which may include States and industry; (C) make use of existing expertise in nanotechnology in their regions and nationally; (D) make use of ongoing research and development at the micrometer scale to support their work in nanotechnology; and (E) to the greatest extent possible, be established in geographically diverse locations, encourage the participation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are part B institutions as defined in section 1061(2) of title 20 and minority institutions (as defined in section 1067k(3) of title 20), and include institutions located in States participating in the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR); (5) ensuring United States global leadership in the development and application of nanotechnology; (6) advancing the United States productivity and industrial competitiveness through stable, consistent, and coordinated investments in long-term scientific and engineering research in nanotechnology; (7) accelerating the deployment and application of nanotechnology research and development in the private sector, including startup companies; (8) encouraging interdisciplinary research, and ensuring that processes for solicitation and evaluation of proposals under the Program encourage interdisciplinary projects and collaborations; (9) providing effective education and training for researchers and professionals skilled in the interdisciplinary perspectives necessary for nanotechnology so that a true interdisciplinary research culture for nanoscale science, engineering, and technology can emerge; (10) ensuring that ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal concerns, including the potential use of nanotechnology in enhancing human intelligence and in developing artificial intelligence which exceeds human capacity, are considered during the development of nanotechnology by— (A) establishing a research program to identify ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal concerns related to nanotechnology, and ensuring that the results of such research are widely disseminated; (B) requiring that interdisciplinary nanotechnology research centers established under paragraph (4) include activities that address societal, ethical, and environmental concerns; (C) insofar as possible, integrating research on societal, ethical, and environmental concerns with nanotechnology research and development, and ensuring that advances in nanotechnology bring about improvements in quality of life for all Americans; and (D) providing, through the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office established in section 7502 of this title, for public input and outreach to be integrated into the Program by the convening of regular and ongoing public discussions, through mechanisms such as citizens’ panels, consensus conferences, and educational events, as appropriate; and (11) encouraging research on nanotechnology advances that utilize existing processes and technologies. (c) The National Science and Technology Council shall oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the Program. The Council, itself or through an appropriate subgroup it designates or establishes, shall— (1) establish goals and priorities for the Program, based on national needs for a set of broad applications of nanotechnology; (2) establish program component areas, with specific priorities and technical goals, that reflect the goals and priorities established for the Program; (3) oversee interagency coordination of the Program, including with the activities of the Defense Nanotechnology Research and Development Program established under section 246 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107–314) and the National Institutes of Health; (4) develop, not later than 5 years after the date of the release of the most-recent strategic plan, and update every 5 years thereafter, a strategic plan to guide the activities described under subsection (b) that describes— (A) the near-term and long-term objectives for the Program; (B) (C) the metrics that will be used to assess progress toward the near-term and long-term objectives; (D) how the Program will move results out of the laboratory and into application for the benefit of society; (E) the Program’s support for long-term funding for interdisciplinary research and development in nanotechnology; and (F) the allocation of funding for interagency nanotechnology projects; (5) propose a coordinated interagency budget for the Program to the Office of Management and Budget to ensure the maintenance of a balanced nanotechnology research portfolio and an appropriate level of research effort; (6) exchange information with academic, industry, State and local government (including State and regional nanotechnology programs), and other appropriate groups conducting research on and using nanotechnology; (7) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, such as the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Research Program, in support of the activity stated in subsection (b)(7); (8) identify research areas that are not being adequately addressed by the agencies’ current research programs and address such research areas; (9) encourage progress on Program activities through the utilization of existing manufacturing facilities and industrial infrastructures such as, but not limited to, the employment of underutilized manufacturing facilities in areas of high unemployment as production engineering and research testbeds; and (10) in carrying out its responsibilities under paragraphs (1) through (9), take into consideration the recommendations of the Advisory Panel, suggestions or recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (b)(10)(D), and the views of academic, State, industry, and other appropriate groups conducting research on and using nanotechnology. (d) The Council shall prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Science, and other appropriate committees, at the time of the President’s budget request to Congress, that includes— (1) the Program budget, for the current fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the Program, including a breakout of spending for the development and acquisition of research facilities and instrumentation, for each program component area, and for all activities pursuant to subsection (b)(10); (2) the proposed Program budget for the next fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the Program, including a breakout of spending for the development and acquisition of research facilities and instrumentation, for each program component area, and for all activities pursuant to subsection (b)(10); (3) an analysis of the progress made toward achieving the goals and priorities established for the Program; (4) an analysis of the extent to which the Program has incorporated the recommendations of the Advisory Panel; and (5) an assessment of how Federal agencies are implementing the plan described in subsection (c)(7), and a description of the amount of Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research funds supporting the plan.