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Nanotech goes to D.C.

March 3, 2008

Times Union Washington Bureau, By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY

Washington -- Lawmakers are known for getting down to the nitty gritty. But lately, they've been focusing on the tiniest forms of matter: the subject of nanotechnology.

Roughly two dozen nanotechnology companies and other experts came to Capitol Hill last week to show off their wares and send Congress a message: Nanotechnology is about a whole lot more than computer chips.

Supporters of more federal aid for nanotechnology -- the science and engineering of products on an extremely small scale -- say this is the next industrial frontier. Scientists and entrepreneurs argue that the burgeoning industry needs more federal funding for the United States to stay ahead of global competitors.

Nanotechnology generally refers to the manipulation of matter measured from 1 to 100 nanometers. A strand of human hair is 80,000 nanometers wide. By contrast, a strand of DNA has a width of just 2.5 nanometers.

U.S. firms already use the small science of nanotechnology to solve big problems, such as how to deliver drugs directly to tumors in the human body and to make affordable solar panels.

For instance, last August, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy said they had created a thin, flexible battery by embedding carbon nanotubes in a sheet of paper.

"It looks like a black sheet of paper," said Robert Linhardt, acting director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at RPI. But, Linhardt said, the paper battery can store power and potentially be placed under someone's skin to power biomechanical devices, such as pacemakers.

Other companies are using nanotechnology to develop products ranging from water-resistant clothing and ultra-light motorcycle brakes to tennis balls that don't lose their bounce and sunblocks that penetrate the skin.

"These are technologies that are all going to be enabled by the nano-revolution," Linhardt said.

The federal government has been spending about $1.5 billion annually on nanotechnology research. That money is funneled to 25 federal agencies and coordinated by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a seven-year-old program to foster research on the molecular level.

At a briefing organized by the congressional High Tech Caucus and the Nanotechnology Caucus, researchers and entrepreneurs said lawmakers should boost spending on the issue and find other ways to foster promising research.

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, co-chairwoman of the High Tech Caucus in the House of Representatives, suggested Congress could spur the industry by expanding existing tax credits for research and development. She is mulling whether Congress should create new low-interest loans for nanotechnology ventures -- much like the home loans guaranteed by the government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Gillibrand said some lawmakers -- particularly those who have nanotech firms in their districts -- recognize the importance of the field.

Gillibrand 's district, which encompasses part of the Capital Region, has become a hotbed of nanotechnology research.

"We see the future of our districts" tied to the future of nanotech, Gillibrand said. But, she added, "We are a minority in Congress."

Gillibrand said that is partly because "nanotechnology as a science is not really understood by many people."

"It's really, really small stuff," Gillibrand continued. "But the kinds of applications are tremendous."

Another nano-champion on Capitol Hill, Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., says he has "drunk the Kool-Aid on nanotech" and is a committed supporter of the industry.

"Nanotech can be applied in so many different areas," he said. "It's not just computers. There are so many different areas this has an impact on, and it's fascinating."

The breadth of the field was evident last Thursday on Capitol Hill, when companies from across the nation crammed into a congressional office to demonstrate their products and research to lawmakers and congressional staff.

Nanotex, an Oakland, Calif.-based firm, was showing off fabric embedded with nanoparticles that help it resist water. Nanotex sells the fabric to companies such as Brooks Brothers and Eddie Bauer to create silk ties and cotton shirts that repel liquids.

The company also has developed "static-free" fabric, used in winter hats and designed to keep flyaway hair at bay. Embedded in the fabric are nanoscale conductors that "bleed off" electrical charge, said William Stockton, a project director for Nanotex.

Starfire Systems, based in Malta, demonstrated thin, flexible patches it has developed for astronauts to repair cracks in space shuttles and light ceramic composite brakes it is producing for cars and motorcycles.

Unlike traditional brakes, which lose stopping power as temperatures rise, the ceramic composite brakes perform better in hot conditions. They also are more durable and are expected to last a car's lifetime, said Richard Saburro, Starfire's president and CEO.

The company also is working with engineers at the San Antonio, Texas-based Southwest Research Institute, Syracuse University and the University at Albany to develop supersensitive "intelligent" fabric.

They plan to embed nano-sized sensors in the cloth that would be able to gauge temperature and detect toxins -- and shrink or enlarge the pores of the fabric in response. The fabric, likely to be proposed for use in military uniforms, could respond to a hot day in the desert by enlarging the pores so the person feels a breeze. In the case of a chemical attack, the pores could shrink to protect whoever is wearing the clothing.

Saburro said the company hopes to have a working textile patch this summer.

In another corner of the room, representatives from Troy-based Evident Technologies lifted up glowing strands of aqua- and peach-colored Christmas lights.

The firm has developed a new form of semiconductor it calls "quantum dot nanomaterials." By tuning these tiny crystals in different ways, researchers can control the colors emitted from LEDs -- or the way light is absorbed. A difference of just a few nanometers can change the color of a light from red to blue.

The technology is used in the low-energy Christmas lights, which promise not to burn out completely if a single bulb fails. The lights are being sold under the name "dotstrand" online and in hardware and gift stores in New York and Vermont .

Evident Technologies also has used its nanomaterials on the headlights of military vehicles. Soldiers looking at the headlights with night goggles would see them glow in a distinct way -- a signal that marks friendly vehicles.

Edward Cupoli, an economics professor at the University at Albany 's College of Nanoscale , said consumers are hungry for nano-sized innovations.

The market is driven primarily by young, tech-savvy consumers who demand more and more functionality from smaller equipment, he said.

"If they produce it," Cupoli said, "the market is there."