Young scientist prizeThe EuroNanoForum 2009 contest for the prize for young scientist in the nanotechnology for
sustainable development, consisting of a diploma, financial reward of EUR 500 and a publication about
the Czech Republic, finalized the conference. Mrs. Alena Blažková of Department of International
Cooperation in Research and Development of Ministry of Education,Youth and Sports of the Czech
Republic awarded the prizes to the following three students:
- Danny Bavli of The Faculty of Medicine Hebrew University, Biochemisty in Jerusalem (Israel) for the
poster “Enhanced Nanoparticle-based Monitoring of Bacteria in Water“
- Pavel Řezanka of Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Analytical Chemistry (Czech Republic) for
the poster “Modification strategy for gold and silver nanoparticles with C-Glycosylated porphyrin
derivates“
- Heidi Thomas of Department of Chemistry, Chemistry in Marburg (Germany) for the poster “Metal
Contacts on Organic Monolayers formed by Electroless Metal Deposition“
Conference Conlusions
presented by Prof. Ing. Miroslav Tůma, Vice-President of The Academy of Sciences of the Czech
Republic
The EuroNanoForum 2009, a 4-day conference, was organized at the Prague Congress Centre from 2nd
to 5th of June, as an event of the Czech Presidency, under the auspices of the Czech Ministry for
Education Youth and Sports and with the support of the Industrial Technologies Directorate of the
Directorate General for Research of the European Commission.
The conference examined the
nanotechnology contribution to the sustainable development of European industry and society while
underlining the up-to-date industrial technologies and the role of products and services enabled by
nanotechnologies in today’s world.
• The Forum provided a communication platform between the main European and international
stakeholders (industrialists, researchers, universities and policy makers) in nanotechnology
research and development. The conference was attended by more than 700 participants from 36
countries.
• The conference highlighted spectrum of nanotechnologies, which could significantly contribute to
the industries including aeronautics, automotive, chemicals, biotechnology and healthcare,
construction electronic and electrical engineering, food, shipping, manufacturing, power
generation and storage, remediation of the environment and textiles. Various technical details
e.g. technology readiness, end-user needs, benefits and risks, have been assessed at each
of 33 conference sessions. The detailed summary of each session will be used to guide
future political actions in research on nanosciences, nanotechnologies and converging
sciences.
Following the presentations and a panel discussion, the participants arrived at the conclusions
listed below:
Eco- & energy- efficient industrial production
• The interest in nanomaterials and metal nanoparticles as catalysts is increasing, for energycost
reduction, improvement of selectivity and minimisation of waste streams. Among
particular examples that were shown was the use of superparamagnetic nanoparticles as
heterogeneous catalysts. Other promising concepts to improve energy efficiency are
microreactors and novel reactive media - ionic liquids.
• Nanotechnologies could contribute to a significant decrease in energy demand during the
construction of new buildings, and to lower green gas emissions from existing ones.
• For new-generation cars, as well as ships and aircraft, nanotechnologies will impact on
production and operating costs, and lower the environmental impact.
Energy and environment
• Rapidly expanding fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology could contribute to a clean, energyefficient
society and to a plentiful supply of low-cost sustainable and renewable energy
(photovoltaics, wind) and thermoelectric conversion systems. Any new technologies should be
suitable for large-scale application, and capable of providing reliable, stable solutions. One
of the highlighted research results fulfilling these criteria is dye-sensitised nanocrystalline titanium
dioxide solar cells.
• The environmental benefits may in some cases be compromised by unintended consequences of
using nanoscale materials, but further data is needed to assess and mitigate possible risks.
The climate-forcing effects of natural and engineered nanoparticles in the atmosphere should also
be investigated.
Nanotechnology for sustainable healthcare
• Despite the coordination effort and of funding increases to nanomedicine, industrial concerns
about the maturity of these technologies still exist. However, nanotechnology is helping to
bring about important advances in areas such as regenerative medicine, drug delivery and
diagnostics. Presentations showed how in-vitro diagnostics is more and more connected to new
drug propositions; in-vivo imaging is combining different reagents and biomarkers; and
biodegradable nanofibre scaffolds are helping to treat previously incurable conditions. The
conference calls for better cooperation among researchers, hospitals (i.e. clinicians) and
industries.
Prospects for industrial nanotechnologies
• Despite the advances in characterisation and analytical tools, some gaps remain. The incremental
improvements in silicon-based electronics and improved design of devices are evidenced.
Breakthroughs from bottom-up approaches (e.g. molecular electronics) are still in their infancy.
The recommendation is to strengthen e public-private partnerships and improve education in
Europe.
Governance of nanotechnology
• To respond to wider interdependent concerns expressed by industry, various ETPs and European
policies (e.g. Research and Development, Health, Environment, Consumer protection,
Competitiveness ...), the need for more effective Europe-wide cooperation on horizontal
nanotechnology issues (Standardisation; Education; Ethical, Social and Legal Aspects;
Communication and Outreach) was discussed.
• Further dialogue and joint actions between governments, funding agencies, industries and
research entities are essential to achieve a prosperous sustainable economy in Europe. Only
these interactions will overcome the infrastructural and knowledge barriers. They are vital to
maximise the benefits of cooperative research in nanosciences and nanotechnologies. Also vital
is a dialogue with society at large, in order to overcome misconceptions created by ill-informed
media comment.
• In order to support the continuation of nanotechnology’s industrialisation, encourage the
development of new products and services, and to respond to broad public demand for safe and
responsible research, wider international cooperation and greater financial support is
needed in the fields of safety, health and environmental protection.
• Market success of nanotechnology applications depends very much on the establishment of
corresponding standards, and continuous development of measurement and testing
methods.
Contacts and a information
More information at www.euronanoforum2009.eu
Press information in „Media“ section at the same website.