Tina Smith: “Nanotechnology will have a significant, positive impact on the security, economic well-being, and health of Americans as…”

“Nanotechnology will have a significant, positive impact on the security, economic well-being, and health of Americans as fields related to nanotechnology expand. In order to maximize the benefits of nanotechnology to our citizens, the United States must maintain world leadership in the field. According to the National Science Foundation, foreign students on temporary visas earned 32 percent of all science and engineering doctorates awarded in the United States in 2003, the last year for which data is available. Foreign students earned 55 percent of the engineering doctorates. Many of these students expressed an intent to return to their country of origin after completing their study. To maintain world leadership in nanotechnology, the United States must make a long-term investment in educating U.S. students in high schools and colleges, so that our students are able to conduct nanoscience research and develop and commercialize nanotechnology applications. Preparing students for careers in nanotechnology requires they have access to the necessary scientific tools, including scanning electron microscopes designed for teaching, and involves training to enable teachers and professors to use the tools in classrooms and laboratories.”