UCSB Helps Secure $24 Million Grant for Nanotechnology Center

UCSB’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society helped secure a $24 million grant for the new UC Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, according to a university press release Friday.

The new center – located at UCLA but involving “significant collaboration” from UCSB researchers – will conduct research on a number of subjects, including environmental risk perception, public perception of nanoparticle environmental hazards, environmental toxicology, and risk communication.

UCSB’s Barbara Herr Harthorn, a professor of feminist studies, anthropology, and sociology, will lead much of the research. Other UCSB faculty members to be involved in research at the UC-CEIN include William Freudenburg, a professor of environmental studies, Arturo Keller, professor of environmental engineering, and Bren School professors Patricia Holden and Hunter Lenihan.

According to the press release, the $24 million in grant money comes from the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a multi-agency federal program created to encourage development of nanotechnology in the American economy.