Economic Development
Nanotechnology will create a diverse variety of strong high-tech business sectors in areas from medicine and security systems to everyday consumer products. As part of a state-supported university, Maryland NanoCenter is committed to assisting the economic development of the state of Maryland and the region in nanotechnology. Biotechnology and defense-related applications of nanotechnology are obvious areas of concentration, given the concentration of biotech companies and R&D facilities as well as Federal and DoD laboratories in Maryland and the surrounding region, though a host of other areas present opportunity as well.
Maryland NanoCenter is already working with the State of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) to realize the economic benefits of nanotechnology for the state and region. The State of Maryland has a good start, ranking 8th in Small Times Magazine's March 2005 rating of the states in micro and nanotech.
The University of Maryland has recently been selected to establish the Sloan Biotechnology Industry Center to drive research aimed at understanding the forces driving competitiveness in the biotechnology industry. Nano is playing an increasingly important role in biotechnology. The new center will facilitate understanding of this segment of the nano landscape, which is particularly important to the Maryland region.
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National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and economic consequences
The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a major investment in nanotechnology for its technological, economic, and societal benefits. FY2005 budgets were about $1.2B, underscoring the importance attributed by the Federal government to nanotechnology. Asia and Europe are comparably committed to nanotechnology. These investments are justified in terms of the potential economic advantage they can bring in terms of the worldwide nanotechnology market, which is expected to grow to much more than these levels over the coming years..
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