80 FR 34713 - Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade
OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 116 (June 17, 2015)
Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 116 (June 17, 2015)
| Page Range | 34713-34715 | |
| FR Document | 2015-14914 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)] [Notices] [Pages 34713-34715] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-14914] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade ACTION: Notice of request for information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to seek suggestions for Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade: Ambitious but achievable goals that harness nanoscience, nanotechnology, and innovation to solve important national or global problems and have the potential to capture the public's imagination. This RFI is intended to gather information from external stakeholders about potential grand challenges that will help guide the science and technology priorities of Federal agencies, catalyze new research activities, foster the commercialization of nanotechnologies, and inspire different sectors to invest in achieving the goals. Input is sought from nanotechnology stakeholders including researchers in academia and industry, non-governmental organizations, scientific and professional societies, and all other interested members of the public. DATES: Responses must be received by July 16, 2015 to be considered. ADDRESSES: You may submit responses by any of the following methods (email is preferred):Email: NNIChallenges@nnco.nano.gov. Include [Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges] in the subject line of the message. The response may be in the body of or as an attachment to the email. Mail: Attn: Tarek Fadel, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, ATTN: NNI Grand Challenges RFI, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Stafford II, Suite 405, Arlington, VA 22230. If submitting a response by mail, please allow sufficient time for mail processing. Instructions: Responses must be unclassified and should not contain any information that might be considered proprietary, confidential, or personally identifying (such as home address or social security number). Disclaimer: Federal agencies may or may not use any responses to this RFI as a basis for a subsequent project, program, or funding opportunity. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. The Office of Science and Technology Policy is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. No requests for a bid package or solicitation will be accepted; no bid package or solicitation exists. In order to protect the integrity of any possible future acquisition, no additional information will be provided and no appointments for presentations will be made in reference to this RFI. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving any awards related to the submitted input on a potential Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tarek Fadel, (703) 292-7926, NNIChallenges@nnco.nano.gov, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. Any requests for clarification must be received no later than seven (7) business days prior to the close of this RFI in order to receive a timely response. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Information The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), established in 2001, is a U.S. Government research and development initiative of 20 Federal departments, independent agencies, and independent commissions (hereafter referred to as ``agencies'') working together toward the common challenging vision of a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a revolution in technology and industry that benefits society (see www.nano.gov). The combined, coordinated efforts of the participating agencies have accelerated the discovery, development, and deployment of nanotechnology to address agency mission goals and broader national [[Page 34714]] needs. Over the next decade, nanotechnology has the potential to build on the great progress already made under the NNI and solve a wide range of important national and global problems. In its recent review of the NNI, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommended that agencies engage research, development, and industrial stakeholders in the identification and selection of grand challenges in order to focus and amplify the impact of Federal nanotechnology activities (see www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_fifth_nni_review_oct2014_final.pdf). Grand challenges are an element of the President's Strategy for American Innovation that help catalyze breakthroughs needed to advance national priorities. A Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge should be an ambitious but achievable goal that harnesses nanoscience, nanotechnology, and innovation to solve important national or global problems and has the potential to capture the public's imagination. The challenge should inspire different sectors to invest resources to achieve the ambitious goal and stimulate a network of activities that will drive scientific ideas towards commercial products while catalyzing new discoveries. An effective grand challenge has the following characteristics (as defined by PCAST as noted above, as well as the Administration here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/grand-challenges): A measurable end-point that is highly ambitious but achievable. Requires advances in fundamental scientific knowledge, tools, and infrastructure for successful completion. Has clear intermediate milestones (measurable and valuable in their own right) that will be achieved en route to the final goals. Drives the need for collaboration between multiple disciplines, some of which do not normally interact, causing multiple organizations to come together to collaborate and to share resources and information to solve the challenge. Spans efforts from discovery and fundamental science to engineering demonstration and commercialization; i.e., catalyzes the transition of technologies from laboratory to market. Is too big to be undertaken by one or even a few organizations. Is exciting enough to motivate decision makers to provide funding and resources and multiple organizations to collaborate, share resources, and information to solve the challenge. Captures the imagination of the public, thereby facilitating strong support for the resources required to achieve the goals. Although nanoscale science and technology is a broadly enabling discipline, not every worthwhile grand challenge is likely to be solved using nanotechnology. The objective of this RFI is to identify compelling, ambitious grand challenges where the known benefits of nanoscale science and technology, including the unique properties of engineered nanomaterials, are likely to play an enabling role in the solution to each challenge within the next decade. Information Requested The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests suggestions for nanotechnology-inspired grand challenges achievable in the next decade that solve important national or global problems and are relevant to the mission of one or more of the agencies participating in the NNI (see www.nano.gov/partners). In order to illustrate how such grand challenges should be framed and to help stimulate the development of additional grand challenges, the NNI agencies, working with the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) and OSTP, have developed a number of potential grand challenges for the next decade, which are listed below. In addition to seeking suggestions from the community for other grand challenges, comments are sought as to the merits of these examples, including how they could be improved, along with additional information supporting these examples as detailed in the questions that follow. Examples of Potential Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade By 2025, the nanotechnology R&D community is challenged to achieve the following: 1. Increase the five-year survival rates by 50 percent for the most difficult to treat cancers. Although great progress has been made in diagnosing and treating many types of cancer, some types remain very deadly, such as pancreatic, lung, and some types of brain cancers where fewer than 20 percent of patients survive five years. From multiplexed biomarker detection enabled by nanosensor arrays for early diagnosis, to targeted nanoparticle-based therapeutics, nanotechnology has tremendous potential to dramatically improve the outcome and quality of life for these cancer patients compared to their current prognoses. The resulting technological advances will undoubtedly improve the diagnosis and treatment of other types of cancer and diseases as well. 2. Create devices no bigger than a grain of rice that can sense, compute, and communicate without wires or maintenance for 10 years, enabling an ``internet of things'' revolution. Incorporating sensors, electronics, and networking into a vast array of everyday objects to create an Internet of Things will lead to a revolution in how we interact with the world--from traffic jam-free cities and self-driving cars, to clothing that monitors our health and safety. This revolution will require new paradigms for logic, memory, communication, and sensing, along with energy storage, harvesting, and transmission, that dramatically reduce power consumption and extend the life of the devices needed to interconnect this new world. 3. Create computer chips that are 100 times faster yet consume less power. The technology that has enabled ever-faster and more powerful computer chips that are the foundation of the information technology revolution is reaching its limit. In order to continue to benefit from the advances in computing speed and power we have come to rely on, revolutionary breakthroughs are needed to dramatically lower the power needed to operate the basic electronic switch underlying the digital computing era. Achieving this goal will lead to portable devices that anticipate our needs, faster ``exascale'' computers that will accurately model the planet's climate and rapidly design new materials, and energy efficient data centers that will quickly turn the deluge of data that the world is generating into useful information when and where it is needed. 4. Manufacture atomically-precise materials with fifty times the strength of aluminum at half the weight and the same cost. The development of new materials enabled by nanotechnology is hindered by the fact that their properties often fall far short of what would be predicted based upon the properties of nanoscale building blocks. Atomically precise manufacturing will enable ultra-lightweight, durable, high strength materials that could drastically increase the energy efficiency of cars and other transportation systems, and lead to dramatic improvements in a broad range of other applications, ranging from catalysts that convert sunlight to fuel, to electronics that consume much less energy. 5. Reduce the cost of turning sea water into drinkable water by a factor of [[Page 34715]] four. Water supplies world-wide are vulnerable to threats such as contaminants, changes in land use, shifting and increasing population, climate change, and extreme weather. And one in nine people (750 million worldwide) lack access to clean drinking water. Although sea water is widely available, it currently costs approximately $2,000 to desalinate an acre foot of water (or about $6 per 1000 gallons)--about twice the rate a typical homeowner pays for tap water. Advances in nanotechnology, such as nanoporous materials for separation membranes and nanoparticles that remove contaminants, offer the possibility of much faster, cheaper, and more environmentally-friendly methods for desalination and other treatment applications that could dramatically improve the global supply of drinkable water. 6. Determine the environmental, health, and safety characteristics of a nanomaterial in a month. The need to more quickly and accurately determine whether engineered nanomaterials may pose a risk to the public and the environment continues to be a major challenge to the commercialization of nanotechnology for societal and public benefit. Much more efficient methods, including high-throughput toxicity measurements, sensors to detect nanomaterials in the environment, and accurate, predictive models for risk assessment, are needed to ensure that the safety of each product containing engineered nanomaterials is understood throughout its lifecycle, enabling new products to be quickly and confidently made available to the public. Questions Respondents are asked to address the following general questions for each grand challenge proposed, including for any of the grand challenge concepts listed above (or proposed variations): What is the audacious yet achievable goal proposed? Why is it important for the Federal government and others to invest in solving this challenge? What would success look like? How would you know the challenge has been met? For the examples provided, are the proposed end points appropriate and ambitious yet achievable? What would be potential nanotechnology solutions to the challenge and what intermediate steps and activities are necessary to develop those solutions? What potential metrics and milestones could be used to measure intermediate progress towards solving the challenge? Can the challenge be achieved in the next decade? If not, how long will it take? Why is this challenge worth pursuing now? What recent advances, trends, or research point to this challenge being solvable in the proposed time frame? What opportunities are there for partnerships between the Federal government, State and regional governments, foundations, industry, and academia to support the solution of the challenge? Why do you expect this challenge to capture the public's imagination? Ted Wackler, Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director. [FR Doc. 2015-14914 Filed 6-16-15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3270-F5-P
![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices 34713
Agency name Organization name Position title Authorization No. Vacate date
Office of the Secretary ................. Deputy Director for Scheduling DH130071 .......... 4/17/2015
and Advance.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING Office of Policy Development and Senior Advisor for Housing Fi- DU130015 .......... 4/4/2015
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. Research. nance.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTE- Secretary’s Immediate Office ....... Special Assistant to the Secretary DI130015 ............ 4/18/2015
RIOR.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ....... Tax Division .................................. Confidential Assistant ................... DJ130046 ........... 4/3/2015
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR .......... Employment and Training Admin- Senior Policy Advisor ................... DL120070 ........... 4/2/2015
istration.
Office of Public Affairs ................. Special Assistant .......................... DL110048 ........... 4/18/2015
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND Office of Commissioners .............. Counsel to a Commissioner ......... SH100002 .......... 4/27/2015
HEALTH REVIEW COMMIS- Occupational Safety and Health Confidential Assistant to the SH140001 .......... 4/27/2015
SION. Review Commission. Chairman.
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND Office of Legislative Affairs .......... Confidential Assistant ................... BO150004 .......... 4/4/2015
BUDGET.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE Office of the Chairman ................. Confidential Assistant ................... SE110002 .......... 4/4/2015
COMMISSION.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA- Office of Field Operations ............ Regional Administrator, Region SB130012 .......... 4/18/2015
TION. VIII, Denver, Colorado.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPOR- Immediate Office of the Adminis- Associate Administrator for Gov- DT140051 .......... 4/4/2015
TATION. trator. ernmental, International and
Public Affairs.
Office of the Secretary ................. Special Assistant for Scheduling DT140016 ........... 4/18/2015
and Advance (2). DT140030 .......... 4/18/2015
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 3302; E.O. all other interested members of the information will be provided and no
10577, 3 CFR, 1954–1958 Comp., p. 218. public. appointments for presentations will be
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. DATES: Responses must be received by made in reference to this RFI. This RFI
Katherine Archuleta, July 16, 2015 to be considered. is issued solely for information and
Director. planning purposes and does not
ADDRESSES: You may submit responses
constitute a solicitation. Responders to
[FR Doc. 2015–14811 Filed 6–16–15; 8:45 am] by any of the following methods (email
this RFI will have no competitive
BILLING CODE 6325–39–P is preferred):
• Email: advantage in receiving any awards
NNIChallenges@nnco.nano.gov. Include related to the submitted input on a
[Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand potential Nanotechnology-Inspired
OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND Challenges] in the subject line of the Grand Challenge.
TECHNOLOGY POLICY message. The response may be in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
body of or as an attachment to the email. Tarek Fadel, (703) 292–7926,
Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand • Mail: Attn: Tarek Fadel, National NNIChallenges@nnco.nano.gov,
Challenges for the Next Decade Nanotechnology Coordination Office, National Nanotechnology Coordination
ATTN: NNI Grand Challenges RFI, 4201 Office. Any requests for clarification
ACTION:Notice of request for Wilson Blvd., Stafford II, Suite 405, must be received no later than seven (7)
information. Arlington, VA 22230. If submitting a business days prior to the close of this
response by mail, please allow sufficient RFI in order to receive a timely
SUMMARY: The purpose of this Request time for mail processing. response.
for Information (RFI) is to seek Instructions: Responses must be SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
suggestions for Nanotechnology- unclassified and should not contain any
Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next information that might be considered Background Information
Decade: Ambitious but achievable goals proprietary, confidential, or personally The National Nanotechnology
that harness nanoscience, identifying (such as home address or Initiative (NNI), established in 2001, is
nanotechnology, and innovation to social security number). a U.S. Government research and
solve important national or global Disclaimer: Federal agencies may or development initiative of 20 Federal
problems and have the potential to may not use any responses to this RFI departments, independent agencies, and
capture the public’s imagination. This as a basis for a subsequent project, independent commissions (hereafter
RFI is intended to gather information program, or funding opportunity. referred to as ‘‘agencies’’) working
from external stakeholders about Responses to this RFI will not be together toward the common
potential grand challenges that will help returned. The Office of Science and challenging vision of a future in which
guide the science and technology Technology Policy is under no the ability to understand and control
priorities of Federal agencies, catalyze obligation to acknowledge receipt of the matter at the nanoscale leads to a
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
new research activities, foster the information received, or provide revolution in technology and industry
commercialization of nanotechnologies, feedback to respondents with respect to that benefits society (see
and inspire different sectors to invest in any information submitted under this www.nano.gov). The combined,
achieving the goals. Input is sought from RFI. No requests for a bid package or coordinated efforts of the participating
nanotechnology stakeholders including solicitation will be accepted; no bid agencies have accelerated the discovery,
researchers in academia and industry, package or solicitation exists. In order to development, and deployment of
non-governmental organizations, protect the integrity of any possible nanotechnology to address agency
scientific and professional societies, and future acquisition, no additional mission goals and broader national
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![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices 34715
four. Water supplies world-wide are • Can the challenge be achieved in SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
vulnerable to threats such as the next decade? If not, how long will COMMISSION
contaminants, changes in land use, it take?
shifting and increasing population, • Why is this challenge worth [Release No. 34–75149; File No. SR–EDGX–
climate change, and extreme weather. pursuing now? What recent advances, 2015–26]
And one in nine people (750 million trends, or research point to this
worldwide) lack access to clean challenge being solvable in the Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX
drinking water. Although sea water is proposed time frame? Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and
widely available, it currently costs Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed
approximately $2,000 to desalinate an • What opportunities are there for
partnerships between the Federal Rule Change Related to Fees for Use
acre foot of water (or about $6 per 1000
government, State and regional of EDGX Exchange, Inc.
gallons)—about twice the rate a typical
homeowner pays for tap water. governments, foundations, industry, and
June 11, 2015.
Advances in nanotechnology, such as academia to support the solution of the
nanoporous materials for separation challenge? Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
membranes and nanoparticles that • Why do you expect this challenge Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
remove contaminants, offer the to capture the public’s imagination? ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
possibility of much faster, cheaper, and notice is hereby given that on June 9,
Ted Wackler, 2015, EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the
more environmentally-friendly methods
for desalination and other treatment Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director. ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX’’) filed with the
applications that could dramatically [FR Doc. 2015–14914 Filed 6–16–15; 8:45 am] Securities and Exchange Commission
improve the global supply of drinkable BILLING CODE 3270–F5–P (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
water. change as described in Items I, II and III
6. Determine the environmental, below, which Items have been prepared
health, and safety characteristics of a by the Exchange.3 The Exchange has
nanomaterial in a month. The need to POSTAL SERVICE designated the proposed rule change as
more quickly and accurately determine one establishing or changing a member
whether engineered nanomaterials may Temporary Emergency Committee of
due, fee, or other charge imposed by the
pose a risk to the public and the the Board of Governors; Sunshine Act
Meeting Exchange under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii)
environment continues to be a major of the Act 4 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2)
challenge to the commercialization of thereunder,5 which renders the
nanotechnology for societal and public DATES AND TIMES: June 10, 2015, at 1:30
p.m. proposed rule change effective upon
benefit. Much more efficient methods, filing with the Commission. The
including high-throughput toxicity PLACE:Washington, DC, via Commission is publishing this notice to
measurements, sensors to detect Teleconference. solicit comments on the proposed rule
nanomaterials in the environment, and change from interested persons.
accurate, predictive models for risk STATUS: Committee Votes to Close June
assessment, are needed to ensure that 10, 2015, Meeting: By telephone vote on I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
the safety of each product containing June 10, 2015, members of the Statement of the Terms of Substance of
engineered nanomaterials is understood Temporary Emergency Committee of the the Proposed Rule Change
throughout its lifecycle, enabling new Board of Governors of the United States
products to be quickly and confidently Postal Service met and voted The Exchange filed a proposal to
made available to the public. unanimously to close to public amend its fees and rebates applicable to
observation its meeting held in Members 6 of the Exchange pursuant to
Questions Washington, DC, via teleconference. The EDGX Rule 15.1(a) and (c) (‘‘Fee
Respondents are asked to address the Committee determined that no earlier Schedule’’) to increase the fee for orders
following general questions for each public notice was possible. yielding fee code K, which routes to
grand challenge proposed, including for MATTERS CONSIDERED: NASDAQ OMX PSX (‘‘PSX’’) using
any of the grand challenge concepts ROUC or ROUE routing strategy.
listed above (or proposed variations): Wednesday, June 10, 2015, at 1:30 p.m.
The text of the proposed rule change
• What is the audacious yet
achievable goal proposed? 1. Strategic Issues. is available at the Exchange’s Web site
• Why is it important for the Federal 2. Pricing. at www.batstrading.com, at the
government and others to invest in principal office of the Exchange, and at
GENERAL COUNSEL CERTIFICATION: The the Commission’s Public Reference
solving this challenge?
• What would success look like? How General Counsel of the United States Room.
would you know the challenge has been Postal Service has certified that the
met? For the examples provided, are the meeting was properly closed under the 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
proposed end points appropriate and Government in the Sunshine Act. 2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
3 The Commission notes that a previous version
ambitious yet achievable? CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:
• What would be potential of the proposal was filed as SR–EDGX–2015–25.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Julie S. Moore, Secretary of the Board, The proposal was withdrawn on June 9, 2015.
nanotechnology solutions to the U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza 4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
challenge and what intermediate steps SW., Washington, DC 20260–1000, 5 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).
and activities are necessary to develop telephone (202) 268–4800. 6 The term ‘‘Member’’ is defined as ‘‘any
those solutions? registered broker or dealer, or any person associated
• What potential metrics and Julie S. Moore, with a registered broker or dealer, that has been
Secretary, Board of Governors. admitted to membership in the Exchange. A
milestones could be used to measure Member will have the status of a ‘‘member’’ of the
intermediate progress towards solving [FR Doc. 2015–14949 Filed 6–16–15; 8:45 am] Exchange as that term is defined in Section 3(a)(3)
the challenge? BILLING CODE 7710–12–P of the Act.’’ See Exchange Rule 1.5(n).
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Document Created: 2015-12-15 14:23:25
Document Modified: 2015-12-15 14:23:25
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Notices | |
| Action | Notice of request for information. | |
| Dates | Responses must be received by July 16, 2015 to be considered. | |
| Contact | Tarek Fadel, (703) 292-7926, [email protected], National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. Any requests for clarification must be received no later than seven (7) business days prior to the close of this RFI in order to receive a timely response. | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 34713 |
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