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September 29, 2008
The
Nanoethics Group to Speak at Environmental Nanotechnology Conference
Nanoparticles offer benefits but also
risks to environment and health
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – September 29, 2008 –
The Nanoethics Group today announced that it will make two presentations at
the upcoming “Environmental Nanoparticles: Science, Ethics, and Policy”
conference on November 10-11, 2008, hosted by the acclaimed Delaware
Biotechnology Institute and University of Delaware. The major themes of the
conference include human and environmental health, fate and transport,
sensing and remediation, and future policy directions.
Environmental and biological systems may be significantly affected by both
large and small influences, and engineered nanoparticles represent the
smallest end of the scale. New materials enabled by nanotechnology have much
promise in a number of fields including medicine, energy, manufacturing, and
environmental remediation. However, the impact of these nanoparticles on
nature, human and animal health, as well as their usefulness, is still not
well understood and therefore will be explored at the conference.
Both co-founders of The Nanoethics Group, Dr. Fritz Allhoff (assistant
professor at Western Michigan University) and Dr. Patrick Lin (visiting
assistant professor at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis
Obispo) will give presentations at the conference. Other speakers include
nationally- and internationally-recognized scientists, engineers, ethicists,
and science policy experts, such as: Richard Denison (Environmental Defense
Fund); Vicki Grassian (University of Iowa); Theodore B. Henry (University of
Tennessee); Michael F. Hochella, Jr., (Virginia Tech); Murray Johnston
(University of Delaware); Barbara Karn (US Environmental Protection Agency);
Gregory V. Lowry (Carnegie Mellon University); Andrew Maynard (Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars); Terry Medley (DuPont); Robert L.
Tanguay (Oregon State University); Tuan Vodinh (Duke University); John Yates
(University of Virginia); and Wei-xian Zhang (Lehigh University).
The workshop is limited to 150 participants, and registration will close on
October 15, 2008. For more information, please visit:
http://sepp.dbi.udel.edu/nanoconf2.html.
About The Nanoethics Group
Based at
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), The
Nanoethics Group is a non-partisan research organization formed to study
nanotechnology’s impact on society and related ethical issues. As
professional ethicists, we help to identify and evaluate possible harms and
conflicts as well as to bring balance and common sense to the debate. Our
mission is to educate and advise both organizations and the broader public
on these issues as a foundation to guide policy and responsible research.
For more
information, please visit
www.nanoethics.org.
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