Links
1. Discourses on converging technologies
2. On Ethics in Science and New Technologies
3. On Nanotechnology
4. On Information Technologies
5. On Genetics and Biotechnology
6. On Cognitive Sciences
7. Public Participation
8. Research Projects
9. Research Programmes
10. Other Organizations
1. Discourses on converging technologies
Converging Technologies for Human Performance
The National Science Foundation Report from 2002, edited by M.C. Roco and W.S. Bainbridge, sets out the U.S. vision of converging technologies for transforming S&T and improving human performance.
Foresighting the New Technology Wave
The European vision and research agenda on converging technologies is rather different from that in the United States as espoused by the National Science Foundation. Read here the recommendations of a high-level expert group from 2004.
Bio-Systemics Synthesis
The Canadian vision and research agenda on converging technologies from 2003.
2100 Next Century Forecast
A useful first listing of reports and websites on nanotechnology and converging technologies.
2. On Ethics in Science and New Technologies
EGE, European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies
The Group was set up by the European Commission to examine ethical questions arising from science and new technologies. It issues opinions on questions ranging from stem cell research to ICT implants in the human body. Each opinion is preceded by a debate involving different stakeholders.
UNESCO, Ethics of Science and Technology
This UNESCO programme wants to promote consideration of S&T in an ethical framework. Under the Bioethics sub-programme, UNESCO has elaborated several international declarations on the ethical and human rights dimensions of the life sciences.
Bioethics Resources on the Web
The U.S. National Institutes of Health have created this Website with links to (mainly U.S. based) organizations / themes related to bioethics.
The President's Council on Bioethics
The U.S. Council on Bioethics provides advice on ethical issues related to biomedical science and technology. Topics of council concerns include neuroethics, ageing and end-of-life, cloning and stem cells.
Forum of National Ethics Councils, NEC Forum
The NEC forum consists of the chairpersons and secretariats of the national ethic councils. If follows the open method of coordination to support exchange and collaboration among EU Member States. With links to all existing national ethic councils.
German National Ethics Council
The German National Ethics Council was established in 2001 with the aim of promoting and facilitating dialogue on ethical issues in the life sciences. Main topics include stem cell research, genetic diagnosis and biobanks.
French Consultative Bioethics Committee
The French Ethics Committee was established in 1994, and re-launched in 2004 with the mission to give opinions in ethical problems deriving from biology, medicine and health.
Nordic Committee on Bioethics
The Nordic Committee on Bioethics was established in 1999, in order to promote Nordic cooperation and exchange of information between relevant stakeholders. Recent publications on legislation on biotechnology and assisted reproduction in the Nordic countries.
Canadian Council on Ethics in Human Research
The Canadian Council on Ethics is composed of voluntary members and sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Health Research.
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
An independent body established by the Nuffield Foundation in 1991 and co-funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
Bioethics at the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe's aim in this field is to arbitrate between different interests. The Web Site includes links to various council documents and reports with recommendations.
Ethics in Biobanking
A Web Site set up by different Norwegian institutions to provide information on biobanking and related ethical questions.
Austrian Commission for Bioethics
The Commission for Bioethics advises the Austrian Government on societal, scientific and legal issues related to ethical questions in medicine and human biology. The Commission comprises members from a wide range of disciplines including natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Austrian Institute of Technology Assessment
The Institute of Technology Assessment performs inter-disciplinary scientific research at the interface of technology and society. Its work focuses on development trends, on societal consequences and on options for shaping technological change. The research results provide the basis for giving advice to decision-makers.
Novel Tech Ethics Research Team
Based at Dalhousie University, Canada, the research group is addressing issues related to ‘novel technologies that promise transformation and hence challenge us to reexamine the cultural and scientific understandings of the self.’ The team focuses on developments in the fields of neuro and genetics, including within the ‘gaze’ of bioethics considerations of the political, cultural, and legal aspects of emerging and future technologies.
3.
On Nanotechnology
European Nanotechnology Gateway Nanoforum.org
Information on nanotechnology research and related European policies. Various reports are available to download for free upon registration. Up-to-date information on calls and tenders. Directory of organizations engaged in nanotechnology research Europe-wide.
The Institute of Nanotechnology (IoN)
The Institute of Nanotechnology is one of the world's first nanotechnology information providers. It organizes scientific events, conferences and educational courses. It publishes regular reports on the state of nanotechnology in Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
CORDIS Nanotechnology Homepage
The nanotechnology homepage of the European Commission with information on EU-funding, international cooperation, events, education and mobility, safety aspects and public participation and debate.
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies was established in 2005 jointly by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The project that runs open-ended aims to provide independent and objective knowledge and analysis to inform policy on the commercialization of nanotechnologies. It is currently financing four sub-projects on monitoring technologies for nanoparticles; the industrial ecology perspetcive on nanotechnology; applications in the hydrogen economy; nanotechnology regulation using life cycle analysis (LCA).
NanoChina
Launched in February 2006, this Web Site provides nanotechnology information services of business, research and the public sectors in China.
Austrian Nano Forum
The Austrian multi-annual public funding programme for nanoscale science and nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology and Nanoscience
In 2003 the UK government commissioned the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering to carry out a study of the potential ethical, social, health and safety issues raised by nanoscience and nanotechnology. This Web Site reports on this process and its results.
Nanojury
A forum sponsored by the IRC in Nanotechnology at the University of Cambridge, Greenpeace UK, the Guardian and the University of Newcastle (Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Research Centre). It brings together randomly-chosen citizens from different backgrounds to hear evidence about the role of nanotechnologies in the future.
International Association of Nanotechnology
The Web Site of the International Association of Nanotechnology with information on the International Congress of Nanotechnology organized annually since 2004.
Micro and Nanotechnology Forum (MNT)
The Micro and Nanotechnology Forum Web Site with information on developments in nanotechnology research and business
www.nanoisrael.org
The Web Site of the Israeli National Nanotechnology Initiative. The initiative currently plans to increase funding for nano-related research to 230 million.
www.nanozespol.pl
The Polish government has recently launched its own nanotechnology initiative. In Polish.
The report includes an English summary of the results of a SWOT analysis for Poland carried out by the Interdisciplinary Group for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
Minatec Innovation Centre
Minatec deals with micro and nanotechnology. It is located in Grenoble and represents a joint activity of the Laboratory of Electronic Technology and Information (CEA-Leti) and the Grenoble Institute of Technology (INP-Grenoble) with an endowment of over 400 million Euro in the years 2002-2005. The Centre hopes to capitalize on the burgeoning micro-electronics industry in the Grenoble-Isere region.
NanoSci-ERA
A consortium of 17 research organizations across 12 countries seeking the coordination of national policies in basic research regarding nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University
The CNS-ASU is one of two centers funded by the National Science Foundation to study nanotechnology in society. It holds a regular seminar series featuring speakers addressing the broad range of emerging issues related to nanotechnology in society.
International Nanotechnology and Society Network
The INSN brings together organizations and individuals, currently from 11 different countries, who are involved ‘in advancing knowledge, promoting institutional innovation, engaging policy processes, and improving decisions related to the societal impacts of nanotechnologies and other areas of innovation that nanotechnology may help to enable.’
International Network for Nanotechnology, Society & Health (INNSAH)
Provisionally launched in Japan in 2006, the network comprises specialists in numerous scientific fields with a key aim of contributing to a global knowledge base on the interaction of nanotechnology, society and health.
Nano2Life - European Network of Excellence
Supported by the 6th Framework Programme, this network of excellence aims to assist in the integration of nanobiotech knowledge and expertise across Europe. The site features a nanobiotech news section with calls for papers, contests for young researchers, and information about projects addressing the interface of nanobiotech and society.
4. On Information Technologies
European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence
The ECCAI is a representative body of the European Artificial Intelligence (AI) Community. Its aim is to promote the research, study and application of AI in Europe.
Artificial Intelligence Societies and Organizations Directory
The directory contains a list of AI Societies and Organizations around the world.
Association for Computing Machinery
ACM delivers resources that advance computing as a science and a profession. ACM provides the computing field’s premier Digital Library and serves its members and the computing profession with leading-edge publications, conferences, and career resources.
Computer Microarchitecture Center
The center is a sub-group of the Association for Computing Machinery and aims to advance research and cooperation in the field of new micro structures for computer hardware.
SIGART – The ACM Special Interest Group for Artificial Intelligence
SIGART focuses on providing organizational and financial support for AI-related conferences. The website contains a good overview of ongoing activities in the field.
5. On Genetics and Biotechnology
Human Genome Project
The Website of the National Human Genome Research Institute that led the Human Genome Project for the National Institute of Health.
6. On Cognitive Sciences
Cognitive Science Society
The portal of the Cognitive Science Society Inc. with information on academic programmes, journals and conferences.
Steven Pinker
The personal Website of Steven Pinker, one of the most well-known cognitive scientists, author of How the Mind Works and Learnability and Cognition.
Austrian Society for Cognitive Sciences
The Austrian Society for Cognitive Science (ASoCS) brings together researchers from various disciplines with the common goal of understanding human mind/cognition. The ASoCS acts as a platform for organizing interdisciplinary colloquia, conferences, supporting and establishing research co-operations, cognitive science study programs, etc.
Mei:CogSci
The Web Site of the Middle European Interdisciplinary Master Programme in Cognitive Science supported by the EU SOCRATES programme
7. Public Participation
Small Talk - Discussing Nanotechnologies
A joint initiative by the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), the Royal Institution, ECSITE-UK, Cheltenham Festival of Science and Think-Lab -- events and discussions on nanotechnologies across the UK.
Nanotechnology Engagement Group
An 'Involve' network funded by the UK Office of Science and Innovation established to stimulate thinking and practice about public engagement on nanotechnologies. A final report will be published in September 2007
Nanodialogues
A joint project of demos and University of Lancaster consisting of four 'experiments' - events on nanotechnology aiming at supporting public engagement. The first 'experiment' was concerned with nanoparticles and upstream regulation; the second with bio-nanotechnology and the implications for convergence; the third with nano diffusion and globalization and the fourth (still outstanding) with the corporate innovation cycle.
VivAgora
VivAgora was established as an association in 2003 with the objective of promoting active citizenship and public participation. It organizes public debates / enquires on scientific and technological subjects, including nano-biotechnology. The latter are taking place in 2006 in Grenoble in collaboration with CCSTI of Grenoble.
Vivant
Vivant is an independent site providing information on topics relating to science, life quality, the environment and health. The nanospace within this site provides information specific to nanotechnologies and converging technologies more generally.
8. Research Projects
PAGANINI Research Programme; Participatory Governance and Institutional Innovation
PAGANINI looks into the role of participatory approaches for solving contentious policy areas related to the politics of life, such as embryonic stem cell research, genetic testing, gm-food and nuclear energy.
BITE Project - Biomatric Identification Technology Ethics
BITE is a research project on the bioethics of biometric technology, based on a participatory mechanism. A public consultation on this topic was launched in June 2006.
Life Science Governance
The Website of the interdisciplinary research platform 'Life-Science-Governance' - a platform linking the social sciences and biomedical sciences to explore governance and ethical questions emerging out of the life sciences.
Frontiers
A Network of Excellence (NoE) on life sciences related nanotechnologies representing twelve nanotech institutes across Europe.
Nanologue Net
Nanologue is a 6FP project that aims to facilitate dialogue between researchers, business and civil society about the impacts of nanotechnology. Among else, it has developed a Web-based tool for assessing the societal impacts of nanotechnology applications and products prior to market release.
Summer Schools on Nanotechnologies and Converging Technologies
The Ethic School is a a project that aims to contribute to higher educatio in ethics through summer schools, e-learning tools and publications. In 2008 it is organizing summer schools on nanotechnologies and on emerging technologies. The former is run by Arie Rip, the latter by Alfred Nordmann.
9. Research Programmes
Science and Technology Foresight
The European S&T Foresight portal with information on foresight activities in the field of RTD, regional policy and sectoral policies. Under publications, download the European vision and research agenda on converging technologies from 2004.
Sixth Framework Programme
The EC portal on the Sixth Framework Programme with up-to-date information on calls, tenders and ongoing projects.
Seventh Framework Programme
Information about the Seventh Framework Programme, currently under preparation. The Seventh Framework Programme is being launched in 2007.
Citizens and Governance on a Knowledge-based society
The Citizens and Governance programme of the Sixth Framework Programme is the core of social science research at European level. A quarterly newsletter informs about policy / project development and upcoming events.
GEN-AU, Genome Research in Austria
The GEN-AU research programme is supported by the Ministry of Education, Research and Culture. The programme finds research projects, summer schools, workshops and scholarships.
10. Other Organizations
World Transhumanist Association (WTH)
Transhumanists supporting nano- and converging technologies towards the expansion of human capabilities.
European Parliament -- STOA
The Scientific Technology Options Assessment of the European Parliament organizes workshops and carries out studies on emerging scientific and technological options seeking to clarify their impact on society, the economy and the environment.
Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado
Initiated in 2001, the centre aims to ‘improve how science and technology policies address societal needs, including research, education and service.’ The Centre brings an integrated approach to science and technology policy research establishing connections across the social, physical and biological sciences.
