- Who we are
- What we stand for
- What we do
- CCoN/NanoCEO in the news

Who we are

NanoCEO is a volunteer citizen organization in Wisconsin that formed after several of us participated in a Consensus conference on Nanotechnology organized in Madison in the spring of 2005. Our recommendations are summarized in a report available here.

After the consensus conference, we formed a citizens group (the Citizens’ Coalition on Nanotechnology, CCoN) and organized Nano Cafés to engage the community in discussing nanotechnology.

In 2008, we changed our name to the Nanotechnology Citizen Engagement Organization (NanoCEO)and became independent from the University of Wisconsin.

What we stand for

Although many people don't know much about nanotechnology, it has been called the "next Industrial Revolution"--and, in fact, the Nano Revolution is already here. Nanotechnologies and nanomaterials are being used in hundreds of consumer and industrial products in nearly every field. These technologies promise many benefits to society, but also pose many environmental and health risks, as well as ethical and societal issues, often overlooked or downplayed by those promoting them.

Meanwhile, lay citizens have few opportunities to engage in discussions and decisions about these matters, which could have significant consequences on their lives and their communities, as well as on future generations.

In this context, the purpose of NanoCEO is to

(1) Educate citizens and workers from diverse backgrounds about nanotechnology developments and impacts;
(2) Facilitate citizen engagement and societal dialogues about nanotechnology's applications and implications;
(3) Facilitate lay citizens’ and workers’ capacities to address nanotechnology issues on the individual, workplace, community, and political levels.

What we do

In addition to gathering information about nanotechnology and making it accessible on this website, we organize events, meetings, and other opportunities for lay citizens to learn about emerging nanotechnologies and to engage with their friends and neighbors, other interested citizens, and policymakers in discussions and decisions about them. To date we have organized numerous successful Nano Cafés throughout the Madison area.

Broader than our Nano Cafes, we also engage in a range of nanotechnology events and policy meetings organized by government agencies and others--where we work to bring our questions, perspectives and recommendations to decisionmakers at community, state, and federal levels.

For example, we participated in the meeting organized by the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) on January 4, 2007 about environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanotechnology.
See our press release: Madison resident's lone citizen voice in the Halls of Washington. You can read Mr. Miller's testimony here (see pgs. 280-284). Also, see the comments CCoN submitted together to the NNCO in 2007 after the January meeting, available here.

In March 2009, we took part in the ICTA/CFS petition for rulemaking requesting EPA to regulate nanoscale silver products as pesticides. See our letter here.

In September 2010, we wrote to the EPA asking that the agency not give "conditional approval" to a nanosilver antimicrobial product until it is thoroughouly tested for its environmental and health effects. See our letter here.

For the last several years we have been advocating for an inventory or registry in Wisconsin to track engineered nanomaterials used or sold in Wisconsin industries and consumer products. You can read more about these efforts here and here.

CCoN/NanoCEO in the news

• Nanotechnology Impacts Food and Food Processing by Madison Commons, 11 January 2008

• Perpetual Notion Machine - Dennis Schaffer, WORT 89.9 fm, 1 November 2007

• Find out what people really think about nanotechnology by Andrew Maynard, SafeNano Blog, 21 October 2007

• CCoN member about the rights & wrongs of nanotechnology & how nanotech is changing not just our understanding of reality, but reality itself by Lee Rayburn, The Mic, 92.1, Madison's Progressive Talk, 18 October 2007

• The pros & cons of nanotechnology being developed here in Madison by Lee Rayburn, The Mic, 92.1, Madison's Progressive Talk, 5 July 2007 (toward the middle of the track)

• Small Wonder: UW-Madison scientists are at the cutting edge of a technology with great potential and risks by Nathan J. Comp, The Isthmus, 5 July 2007

• Nanotech watcher Andrew Maynard assesses its risks by Nathan J. Comp, The Isthmus, 5 July 2007

• Citizen debates abroad by NanoExpo (France) - May-September 2007

• "A Public Affair" dedicated to nanotechnology, WORT 89.9 fm, 23 March 2007

• Nanotech dangers get full airing by Mike Ivey, Capital Times - 6 February 2007

• One Citizen's Voiceby Mike Treder on Responsible Technology Blog - 10 January 2007

• To the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Written Submission from the Citizens' Coalition on Nanotechnology by CCoN, January 2007

• Madison resident's lone citizen voice in the Halls of Washingtonby Dietram Scheufele on NanoPublic Blog - 08 January 2007

• Nanotechnology risk discussion - where is the public? by NanoWerk website - 02 January 2007

• Public, Scientists Discuss Technology at Nano Cafés
  by Lynette Jandl on Madison Commons - 24 November 2006

• Affecting Everybody's Life
  by Mike Treder on Responsible Nanotechnology - October 20, 2006

• Engaging the interested
  by Dietram Scheufele on NanoPublic Blog - July 30, 2006

• The Nano Café
  by David Zaks & Chad Monfreda on Worldchanging - July 24, 2006 and on MicroRevolt Reblog - August, 6 2006

• Nano in your Coffee?
  by Mike Treder on Responsible Nanotechnology - July 29, 2006

• 7/11/06
  by TChemGrrl on NanoPants Dance - July 11, 2006