ICON Blog

The broad area of research and development that can be accurately described under the umbrella term "nanotechnology" has undergone a breathtaking expansion since the inauguration of the National Nanotechnology Initiative nearly 10 years ago. With that expansion has come an enormous quantity and variety of data. Data about material properties, nanodevices, nanosystems, environmental, health and safety impacts, etc., continue to accumulate in various databases and information repositories. Understanding how best to organize, collate and increase the utility of these vast and diverse data sets is the goal of a new nanoinformatics project.

SOURCE: nanoinformatics.org

The field of informatics rests at the intersection among data, systems and people, and seeks to transform raw data into information that can then form new knowledge. Nanoinformatics is a name being applied to informatics as it relates to the data, systems and people engaged in nanotechnology research and development. To bring some cohesion to the nanotechnology researchers, informatics experts, government policy makers and other stakeholders potentially affected by nanoinformatics, a collaborative roadmapping workshop is being held this November in the Washington, DC area. More information about the workshop and the participating organizations can be found at Nanoinformatics 2010. The call for papers is still open.