A top nanotechnology expert, Chad Mirkin, director of the International Institute of Nanotechnology at Northwestern University, United States, speaking before a U.S. Senate science subcommittee this week, said that while America has been at the forefront of nanotechnology for more than a decade, other countries are rapidly catching up. The U.S. economy could suffer, he added, if America’s front-runner status is not preserved. The committee is considering a bill to reauthorize the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a program that coordinates more than a dozen federal agencies involved in nanotechnology funding and research. “If the United States does not act now and aggressively pursue the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, we will lose our position as the global leader in this transformative field,” Mirkin said. “Moreover, we will lose the opportunities it can afford us to build our economy and new manufacturing base.” Mirkin warned that countries such as China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Germany are building efforts that could rival the NNI. Senator John Rockefeller, Democratic chairman of the Commerce Committee, said he believes nanotechnology will play a key role in boosting the economy and creating jobs. “There are significant economic and societal incentives to maintain our lead in this field. The global market for nanotechnology-related products was more than $200 billion in 2009, and projections suggesting that it will reach $1 trillion by 2015,” he said. Another speaker, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, director of the West Virginia Nano Initiative and professor of physics at West Virginia University, testified that reauthorizing NNI was critical, while also stressing the need for increased understanding of nanotechnology. “Perhaps most importantly, we need to educate lawyers and businesspeople, elected officials, regulatory officers and venture capitalists about the realities of nanotechnology, especially as they pertain to specialized sectors of the economy like energy, health and the environment,” she said.