Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet
Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet
Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet
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Foreword<br />
NanoSafetyCluster - Compendium 2012<br />
Nanotechnological research gives us a better underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>and</strong> control <strong>of</strong> physical, chemical <strong>and</strong><br />
biological processes at the nano-scale, which is at the interface between the molecular <strong>and</strong><br />
supramolecular level. The control <strong>of</strong> structures in this scale results in new material properties, a more<br />
economical use <strong>of</strong> precious raw materials, smarter medical devices <strong>and</strong> pharmaceutical agents, <strong>and</strong><br />
products with increased energy efficiency. Nanotechnology is <strong>of</strong> benefit to almost every domain <strong>of</strong><br />
our daily life. Safety, health <strong>and</strong> environmental research are means to ensure that the enormous<br />
investments into the development <strong>of</strong> nanotechnology result in long-term benefits <strong>and</strong> sustainable,<br />
smart <strong>and</strong> healthy materials <strong>and</strong> products. It identifies the key factors to guide engineers <strong>and</strong><br />
investors so that they can address these issues in an early phase <strong>of</strong> material development <strong>and</strong> product<br />
design when the flexibility is highest. The vision is a future where most <strong>of</strong> the risks are recognized <strong>and</strong><br />
addressed well before products reach the market.<br />
The European Commission encourages <strong>and</strong> supports safety, health <strong>and</strong> environmental research on<br />
nanomaterials <strong>and</strong> technology as an important part <strong>of</strong> its Framework Programmes. It has recognized<br />
already at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the seventh FP the need for coordination <strong>and</strong> collaboration between<br />
researchers by funding activities such as <strong>NanoImpactNet</strong> (see p. 119 ff). FP projects are limited in time.<br />
To ensure long-term coordination beyond the individual projects’ lifetimes, the NanoSafety Cluster<br />
was created as a super-structure that ensures long-term coordination, facilitates collaboration<br />
between research teams, transfers knowledge between ending <strong>and</strong> newly starting projects <strong>and</strong> makes<br />
information about scientific insight <strong>and</strong> developed methods available to the scientific community <strong>and</strong><br />
disseminates the core messages to industry, regulators, <strong>and</strong> other relevant stakeholders.<br />
The Nanosafety Cluster is structured into highly interlinked working groups that cover the domains<br />
Materials, Hazards, Exposure, Databases, Risks, Modelling, <strong>and</strong> Dissemination. The end <strong>of</strong> 2011 marked<br />
an important step forward in the NanoSafety Cluster with the first elections <strong>of</strong> the NanoSafety Cluster<br />
management team consisting <strong>of</strong> a chair <strong>and</strong> seven working group chairs. Also first joint research<br />
activities between Cluster projects started by different project teams working towards joint summary<br />
reports, training schools <strong>and</strong> workshops.<br />
In addition, the European nanosafety research community, represented through EU FP7 funded<br />
projects, the Nanosafety Cluster, has initiated a new action that aims at providing an insight on the<br />
future research needs in Europe. This initiative includes the production <strong>of</strong> a "Strategic Research<br />
Agenda for Nanosafety Research 2020". The document aims to support the Commission in shaping its<br />
views on future needs on nanosafety research funded under the EU 8th Framework Programme for<br />
Research <strong>and</strong> Innovation - Horizon 2020. Hence, if successful, this action may have an impact on the<br />
contents <strong>of</strong> the future nanosafety research funding within the European Union.<br />
The European nanosafety research community is a key-player also in the global scene in assuring the<br />
safety <strong>of</strong> engineered nanomaterials <strong>and</strong> nanotechnologies. A new task for the Cluster <strong>and</strong> all the<br />
Cluster projects is the collaboration with the US nanosafety research community, as exemplified by<br />
the new series <strong>of</strong> EU-US Nanosafety Workshops. The main aim <strong>of</strong> this collaboration, in which the<br />
Cluster <strong>and</strong> the Cluster projects play an important role, is to promote global collaboration <strong>of</strong><br />
nanosafety research to ensure the safe use <strong>of</strong> engineered nanomaterials <strong>and</strong> their technological<br />
applications.<br />
This compendium provides an update <strong>of</strong> the status <strong>of</strong> already running EU FP7 funded nanosafety<br />
projects, <strong>and</strong> summarizes the achievements <strong>of</strong> the ended project NANOMMUNE. It is also a pleasure<br />
to include in this compendium the description <strong>of</strong> several upcoming projects that are planned to start<br />
in early 2012, namely INSTANT, ITS-NANO, Nanodetector, NanoMICEX, SANOWORK <strong>and</strong> Scaffold.<br />
Michael Riediker <strong>and</strong> Kai Savolainen<br />
Dissemination WG chair NanoSafety Cluster chair<br />
Compendium <strong>of</strong> Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster 1
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