Today’s Federal Register carries a notice of a public meeting on Tuesday March 30th and Wednesday March 31st 2010 to be held at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn-Key Bridge in Arlington Virginia .

The meeting will be a workshop designed "to provide an open forum to discuss the state-of-the-art of the science related to environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials
in two areas: Risk Management Methods and Ethical, Legal, and Societal
Implications (ELSI) of Nanotechnology."

Registration is required to attend the workshop and information on how to register is available in the notice. Anyone wishing to present 3-5 minutes of public comments also needs to register. Written or electronic comments must be submitted via e-mail at capstone@nnco.nano.gov until April 30, 2010. Written comments can also be mailed to Capstone Workshop, c/o NNCO,
4201 Wilson Blvd., Stafford II, Suite 405, Arlington, VA 22230.
 

Those unable to attend the workshop in person can view the main sessions via webcast. The draft agenda for the workshop is below. Among the invited speakers and guest is John Monica, a partner in Porter Wright’s DC office. Further information about the workshop is available on the National Nanotechnology Initiative website.

Schedule and Agenda

Draft Agenda (2/25/10):

Tuesday, March 30

7:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. Morning Introductory Session:
-Welcome

-Opening Remarks

– Highlights from previous workshops

– Introduction to Risk Management Methods:
Gary Marchant, Arizona State University
Greg Lowry, Carnegie Mellon University

– Introduction to Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of Nanotechnology
Pilar Ossorio, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Barbara Herr-Harthorn, University of California, Santa Barbara

– Interactive audience participation

Afternoon Session:
– Concurrent Breakout Sessions
I. – III. Risk Management Research Needs
IV. – VI. Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications

– Closing Session for first day
Tom Kalil, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy
 

5:30 Adjourn

Wednesday, March 31

7:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m. Morning Session:
– Report Outs from Breakout Sessions

– Composite Case Study
Panelists including:
Carolyn Cairns, Consumers Union
John Monica, Porter, Wright, Arthur, & Morris, LLP
Thomas Seager, Rochester Institute of Technology

– Concurrent Breakout Sessions

-Public Comment Period

Working Lunch

Afternoon Session:
– Discussion: "Challenges facing Risk Management Methods and Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications"
– Closing Session: "Grand Challenges for nanoEHS research"

4:00 p.m. Adjourn