Business Outlook for Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the first major technology that is being planned for; the federal government has started an active program outlining the direction of nanotechnology in the United States with no aspect of business, life or society that will not impacted. 

While not all  specific products, processes and markets are known at this time, the structure  under which they are developed is being planned for. This was not done for the  development of the steel, telephone, computer, medical, electronics, automotive  and other technical industries of the past.

Nanotechnology will be a very significant industry if not the most significant industry in the first part of the 21st century; estimates by various sources are predicting nanotechnology to be a 1 trillion dollar industry by 2013.

One of the largest concerns of the federal government is the educational aspect of nanotechnology.  Education is the best way to plan for and manage nanotechnology.

Proper implementation of nanotechnology will be a major force in anti-terrorism.

By properly planning for nanotechnology, these transitions will not be as painful as the past experience of the computer industry and will indeed create more wealth for everyone involved. While the United States economy was strong enough to withstand the disruptive effects of the microcomputer revolution, it will not be able to withstand the blow that nanotechnology could cause--the reason being the sheer proportion of the industry which will be somewhere between 10 to 100 times  the size of the microcomputer revolution. Indeed, by properly planning for the  nanotechnology, the breadth of the new opportunities created will be enormous.

A major concern is that the United States may not keep a commanding lead in nanotechnology. Production costs of many other nations are significantly lower. Nanotechnology  is truly a global industry.

The United States  has a very substantial investment in basic research and this will continue. There is, however, a gap between basic research and the type of research needed to start pioneering companies in nanotechnology. No longer can a business  research for 5 years and then take another 5 years to develop a product. Many successful businesses will do research in one or two years and production the next year.  It is this basic link that is needed for successful business  development that the Rushford Institute for Nanotechnology will fill.

One new development  in the nanotechnology area is the marriage among nanotechnology, biotechnology, information science and cognitive technology, dubbed NBIC. The government has  determined that the United States has an excellent record at taking technologies  and putting them together for a full system approach.  This is one example that the United States government is helping industry by identifying areas where  United States companies can excel. Key companies related to this area such as IBM Rochester, the Mayo Clinic,  The Gunderson Clinic, and the Health Sciences Consortium (LaCrosse) are all  within 50 miles of Rushford . This gives the Institute an excellent advantage in working in this new area of NBIC being explored by  government and industry.