RECENT STORIES

Catching up with former CU QB Darian Hagan ( Ron Knabenbauer )
Kiss Off Denver! ( sheri moore )
Don't Miss AIDS Walk on Saturday ( Robin Ginalick )
CU studies pythons for heart disease answers ( CU News Service )
CU battles drinking with community involvement ( CU News Service )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Boulder \\ Stories \\ Business \\ General Business

Study: Colorado poised to lead in nanotechnology

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: CU-Boulder News Services on 9/14/2006

Colorado has established industry and research resources that can be developed to place the state among the top 10 in nanotechnology, according to a study by the Business Research Division at the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business.

Nanotechnology represents a potential $2.6 trillion market by 2014, according to one estimate, and Colorado has the opportunity to capture a significant share of the market by building on assets like its technology sector, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, cutting-edge research at federal and university laboratories, and a dynamic economic development community, according to "Colorado Nanotechnology Roadmap 2006: No Small Matter."

The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, the State of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and the Denver Mayor's Office of Economic Development. A summary of the study will be released Monday, Sept. 18, as part of the launch of Colorado Tech Week, http://www.coloradotechweek.com.

"Nanotechnology will be critical to our future economy because it enhances other technology efforts including biotechnology, electronics/information technology, energy, defense/homeland security and aerospace," said Richard Wobbekind, associate dean of the Leeds School and director of the Business Research Division.

"Colorado has 75 companies already involved in nanotechnology, and that provides a significant foundation on which to build," he said. "Lux Research has rated Colorado third in nanotechnology potential."

The study assesses the current state of nanotechnology in Colorado including strengths and weaknesses over a range of factors in workforce development, business growth, and research and technology transfer, as well as quantifying the state's commercial and research nanotechnology infrastructure.

Reflecting the nascent status of nanotechnology, more than half of the companies have only research activities in nanotechnology and 40 percent have products. The companies contribute $14.2 million in research and development expenditures and an estimated 300 full- or part-time workers in nano-specific technical positions, Roadmap 2006 notes.
Private sector nanotechnology efforts will be enhanced by support provided by the state's universities, according to Roadmap 2006. While 95 percent of federally funded university nanotechnology research is currently conducted in the University of Colorado and Colorado State university's systems and the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Denver and the Air Force Academy also have nanotech facilities and research.

"University and federal lab research will be critical in supporting the state's nanotechnology efforts," said the Business Research Division's Gary Horvath, the primary investigator on the study.

"If we nurture these research and private sector efforts effectively, we will help disrupt the economy in a positive way," he said. "Now, nanotechnology improves existing products. In the future, it can cause disruptive change in the products we use and the way those products are made. It may be the most important driver of global economic growth in the next 10 years."

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Jeff Thomas

Jeff Thomas has posted 1629 stories and 83 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Jeff Thomas's average story rating is 4.73.

view profile » view other postings from Jeff Thomas »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	Newsvine

What is this?

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Boulder

All stories by Jeff Thomas

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad