By way of opening premise, the participants at this National Interest event observed that nanotechnologies have for several years now been at the center of global technological and scientific development and are based on the ability to control matter on an atomic scale. They are highly multidisciplinary in nature and have gained importance in many fields of scientific and technological interest. Indeed, nanotechnologies stem from the ability to confine electrons in nanometric structures which alter their properties, giving rise to materials and devices that can be designed to meet today’s problems by arriving at ad-hoc solutions to them.
The study of the physics behind these systems is hence applied in vastly divergent fields, ranging from biology to aerospace – one of the very reasons for the success of nanotechnologies. They have so far been employed in various sectors, primarily in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and ICT industries, and cover investment flows of around 3 trillion dollars – a sum itself indicative of their importance and breadth of application worldwide.
Discussions at the roundtable focused particularly on gauging how well Italy is tapping into this market, and what strategies will need to be adopted for it to become a key global player in the field. Highlighted in particular were prevailing constraints on the country’s competitiveness, and, above all, the level of further investment required in the areas of both public and private research. Indeed, it was noted that the percentage of money invested is still far below the standards of countries currently at the forefront of the nanotechnology sector. In terms of research, while Italy is among the top-ranking countries in the world for standard and number of publications in this field, it is in the subsequent phase that Italy was acknowledged as faring less well, that is, in those stages involving the ability to transfer this expertise across to commerce and industry. The experience of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) was held up as potentially quite useful in this regard, since the IIT has made technology transfer one of its key missions. The ultimate goal was thus seen as that of succeeding in transferring the findings of high-level research to as important and advanced a sector as is Italian manufacturing industry.
It was suggested that start-ups would play a very important role towards achieving this end: being new entities by definition, their raison d’être is already that of injecting innovation. The participants thus called for the courage to be rallied to invest in and strengthen Italian start-ups, as well as for complex bureaucratic processes to be streamlined to facilitate their efforts.
Last but not least, the participants pointed to the importance of raising awareness of the science behind these advances. Indeed, it was stressed that apprising not just the general public but also businesses themselves of the nature and potential of nanotechnologies is critical to ensuring they successfully permeate the market and everyday life.