Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems

摘要

Nanotechnology has become a significant focus for federal investment in research and development (R&D). The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), formed in 2001, is a crosscutting initiative now involving 26 federal departments and agencies, with 15 of these having an R&D budget for nanotechnology.' The National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA, formerly Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), as a partner agency in the Federal NNI, sought to identify opportunities and define the potential for applying nanotechnology to revolutionize agriculture and food systems through a National Planning Workshop, Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems, held November 2002 in Washington DC.