Cobb Briefs Congress on Nanotech

Political science professor Michael Cobb joined Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, and 12 other recognized scholars studying the societal implications of nanotechnology, to brief the U.S. Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus, with an estimated attendance of 40 congressional staff and other federal policymakers on March 9.

The briefing was organized by the NSF-funded Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU), in collaboration with the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Cobb’s briefing presentation reported on data from both the National Citizens’ Technology Forum and the subsequent national public opinion poll about public values toward nanotechnology and human enhancement. These data suggest, among other findings, that the public remains hopeful about potential therapeutic advances but that upon deliberation they disfavor many particular potential enhancements.