A high-ranking official from the U.S. Department of Commerce told more than 100 Southern California business and academic leaders and state and federal policymakers gathered at UCLA Sept. 10 that President Bush wants to increase federal investment in nanoscience research by 23% next year to $519 million.

Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Bruce P. Mehlman addressed a workshop hosted by the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at the James West Alumni Center to identify and discuss both the opportunities and challenges posed by nanotechnology.

"While we're putting about $422 million into nanotechnology in the year 2001, total foreign investments will be about twice that at $835 million," Mehlman said. "Everyone expects that the first country with the first big breakthrough in nanotechnology could become the economic giant of the 21st century."

Co-sponsoring the event was the School of Public Policy and Social Research in conjunction with federal agencies.

Through the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the federal government is hoping to ensure consistent and coordinated investment in this emerging technology.

One of the challenges, said Mehlman, will be to establish nanotechnology centers of excellence to attract and support top technologists in the world. "California clearly has a commitment to leading this field," he noted. "With CNSI right here at UCLA, the Los Angeles area could very well emerge as the leading biotech cluster in the world."

Another challenge, said Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor James Heath, scientific-director of CNSI, is persuading today's students, who are coming out of high school and college with a very nontraditional set of skills, to fill the hundreds of thousands of vacant technology jobs.

"Today's students are excited by problems, not necessarily the traditional disciplines of a university," Heath said.