National Nanotechnology Day is October 9

National Nanotechnology Day is an annual celebration featuring community-led events and activities on or around October 9 to help raise awareness of nanotechnology, its use in products that enrich our daily lives, and the challenges and opportunities for the future. This date, 10/9, pays homage to the nanometer scale, 10^–9 meters. This year, given that October 9 falls on a Federal holiday, you may consider celebrating National Nanotechnology Day on, say, Friday, Oct. 6 or Tuesday, Oct. 10.

The theme for this year’s National Nanotechnology Day is “Enabling the Nanotechnology Revolution.” This phrase is inspired by the vision statement for the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which is to enable “a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to ongoing revolutions in technology and industry that benefit society.” This year, we are celebrating nanotechnology’s achievements over the past 20 years, as well as looking forward to how the National Nanotechnology Initiative can continue to best support critical and emerging technologies of the future.

On Oct. 10, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office will host National Nanotechnology Day’s anchor event: a one-day symposium titled Enabling the Nanotechnology Revolution: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which will be held at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC. You can register to join this featured event here.

On Oct. 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a virtual symposium on the continuous manufacturing of nanomaterials. FDA experts will provide an overview of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research’s experience with approving several solid oral drug products that benefit from continuous manufacturing technologies. The experts will also discuss ways in which industry, academia and other regulatory agencies can collaborate and engage with FDA in advancing the field of nanotechnology and continuous manufacturing.

On Oct. 9–13, Georgia Tech will host Nanowire Week 2023, a conference that will cover all aspects of nanowire research and development, from fabrication and fundamental properties to applications. Examples of topics that will be discussed are: nanowire growth and manufacturing; hybrid nanowire-biological systems; sensors and actuators; electronic and optoelectronic devices; and energy conversion and storage. You can register here.

Whether at home, at school, outside, or in a science museum, there are many ways to explore advances in nanotechnology and how it is impacting our everyday lives! Planning for various events and activities is underway at schools, universities, and various organizations around the country.

Here are a few suggested activities around this year’s theme:

• Host image, video, or illustration contests that highlight nanotechnology advances or the impact of nanotechnology on society over the past 20 years.
• Host a Science Café or an informal discussion on nanotechnology in your town. If you are a K–12 student or teacher, you could invite a scientist from a local college or university. Email Patrice Pages (ppages@nnco.nano.gov) to learn more.
• Organize lab tours and open houses.
• Coordinate outreach events with demonstrations about nanotechnology. Check out some resources here.
• Create and share an image, video, illustration, or infographic about nanotechnology: what it is, why it is important, and examples of nanotechnology applications.
• Sign up for free remote sessions to see nature at the nanoscale using nanotechnology tools, such as a scanning electron microscope. With the assistance of an experienced engineer, you can control these tools over the Internet in real time!

If you have other activities that combine nanotechnology with understanding climate change, we’d love to share them. Please let us know at: nnd@nnco.nano.gov. Also, if you have questions about National Nanotechnology Day, please feel free to contact us at: nnd@nnco.nano.gov