Nanotechnology applications in the forest products industry

Nanotechnoloy is the study and engineering of matter at the dimensions of 1 to 100 nanometers, where the physical, chemical, or biological properties are fundamentally different from those of the bulk material. By expanding our understanding and control of mater at such levels, new avenunes in product development can be opened. Nanoscale-based science has applications acros nearly all economic sectors and allows the development of new technologies with broad commerical potential, such as nanostructured materials, nanoscale-based manufacturing processes, and nanoelectronics. However, to fully achieve these potential applications, investments must be made in the science and engineering that will enable creation of new technologies and enable industry to produce more advanced and cost-competitive products. The necessary basic and applied nanotechnolgoy research and development (R&D) are often broad, comples, expensive, long term, and risky for industry to undertake entirely on its own. Therefore this R&D is best carried out as an integrated partnership and efford involving the federal government, arademia, and industry. Figure 1 shows the historical breakdown of overall R&D spending by categorical group, and a similar trend is expected for the specific R&D spending in nanotechnology. This figure demonstrates that federal and university involvement in R&D is highest for basic reseach, while involvement of U.S. industry is highest in applied research and product development. To best assist industry in the utilization of nanotechnology, the federal government is concentrating its funding on basic research.