Award Abstract #0830093
Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

NSF Org:	EF Emerging Frontiers
Initial Amendment Date:	September 17, 2008
Latest Amendment Date:	August 30, 2009
Award Number:	0830093
Award Instrument:	Cooperative Agreement
Program Manager:	Alan James Tessier EF Emerging Frontiers BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	September 1, 2008
Expires:	August 31, 2013 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$6050000
Investigator(s):	Mark Wiesner wiesner@duke.edu (Principal Investigator) Michael Hochella (Co-Principal Investigator) Richard Di Giulio (Co-Principal Investigator) Kimberly Jones (Co-Principal Investigator) Gregory Lowry (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Duke University 2200 W. Main St, Suite 710 Durham, NC 27705 919/684-3030
NSF Program(s):	CEIN-CTR ENVIR IMPL OF NANO, CEIN, SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF NANO, NANOSCALE: SCIENCE & ENGIN CTR, OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
Field Application(s):	0000099 Other Applications NEC
Program Reference Code(s):	smet, BIOT, 9183, 9179, 9178, 9177, 7784, 7720, 7702, 7634, 7465, 7237, 1675, 1253, 1179
Program Element Code(s):	I385, H408, 7784, 7720, 7702, 1675, 1253, 1179

ABSTRACT

Duke University

Carnegie Mellon University

Howard University

Stanford University

University of Kentucky

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

This award establishes a Center to conduct research and education on the environmental impacts of nanomaterials. It will advance discovery of general principles that determine the movement and transformation of nanomaterials in the environment and their effects on organisms and ecosystems. The Center will further translate this knowledge into the language of risk assessment to guide nanotechnology in ways that minimize harm to the environment. This Center engages a highly interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team in integrated research to establish a theoretical understanding of how the physics and surface chemistry of nanomaterials determine their interactions with the environment, from the molecular level to that of entire ecosystems. The Center will develop new methods for detection and tracking of natural and manufactured nanomaterials in the environment. Information on nanomaterial properties and environmental impacts will be synthesized into models that can be used to predict environmental risk.

Nanotechnology holds great promise both to the nation's economic growth and to enhance our ability to live in more sustainable ways. However, the responsible implementation of this technology is hampered by uncertainty over the environmental impacts of nanomaterials. There is an urgent societal need to understand this risk, while at the same time providing guidelines for safe design to prevent environmental harm. This Center will conduct the fundamental research necessary to reduce uncertainty in the environmental impacts of nanotechnology. It will contribute uniquely to a network of nanotechnology centers that serve the national needs. The Center will also promote interdisciplinary training of the next generation of nanoscale scientists and engineers in ways that broaden participation in the newly emerging field of environmental nanoscience. In collaboration with national laboratories, non-governmental organizations, and industry, the Center will further research and education goals and engage in outreach that informs both experts and the public at large about the safety issues surrounding nanotechnology

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

Auffan, M.; Rose, J.; Wiesner, M. R.; Bottero, J. Y.. "Chemical stability of metallic nanoparticles: a parameter controlling their potential toxicity in vitro," Environmental Pollution, v.157, 2009, p. 1127.

Chang, X.; Vikesland, P. J.. "Effects of Carboxylic Acids on nC60 Aggregate Formation.," Environmental Pollution, v.157, 2009, p. 1072.

Liu, J.; Aruguete, D.; Jinschek, J. R.; Rimstidt, J. R.; M.F. Hochella, J.. "Insights into mineral dissolution rates as a function of grain size, shape, and aggregation state.," Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v.72, 2008, p. 5984.

Phenrat, T.; Liu, Y.; Tilton, R. D.; Lowry, G. V.. "Adsorbed Polyelectrolyte Coatings Decrease Fe0 Nanoparticle Reactivity with TCE in Water: Conceptual Model and Mechanisms.," Environmental Science & Technology, v.43, 2009, p. 1507.

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