National Nanotechnology Initiative releases its fiscal year 2009 budget and highlights

Key points from the report:

• The 2009 NNI budget provides increased support for research on fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes, from $481 million in 2007 to $551 million in 2009.

• The proposed budget reflects substantial ongoing growth in funding for instrumentation research, metrology and standards (from $53 million in 2007 to $82 million in 2009) and in nanomanufacturing research (from $48 million in 2007 to $62 million in 2009).

• Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) R&D funding in 2009 ($76 million) is more than double the level of actual funding in 2005 ($35 million)—the first year this data was collected. The steady growth in EHS R&D spending follows the NNI strategy of expanding the capacity to do high-quality research in this field.
  
  

About the National Science and Technology Council and the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee. The Federal Government’s nanotechnology research programs, in general, fall under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). Coordination of research in the field takes place through the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council. The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office provides technical and administrative support to the NSET Subcommittee and serves as a central point of contact for the NNI.