This book celebrates a few examples of the many women who have advanced the field of nanotechnology. The book opens with an overview of the field, illuminating how nanotechnology is opening the door to manipulating matter on a scale one billionth of a meter. Then the use of nanotechnology to improve science and scientific literacy is discussed, and strategies for incorporating nanotechnology in K-12 education are presented. Next, an array of female scientists provide technical descriptions of how their work is impacting their respective areas. Topics include applications in the energy, electronics, water, communication and health care sectors, among others. The book closes with a historical perspective on the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative and future prospects for nanotechnology. This book provides the opportunity to appreciate some of the key advancements made by women engineers in nanotechnology and to become inspired by the ingenuity and creativity, collaborative nature, and altruistic inventiveness of women engineers. Includes contributions from leading female scientists in nanotechnology Highlights topics in nanotechnology ranging from health care, to sensors, to alternative energy, to clean water, to nanoelectronics Presents an opportunity to learn about the breadth, depth and impact of the field of nanotechnology and women’s important contributions to it

This book begins with an examination of the numbers of women in physics in English-speaking countries, moving on to examine factors that affect girls and their decision to continue in science, right through to education and on into the problems that women in physics careers face. Looking at all of these topics with one eye on the progress that the field has made in the past few years, and another on those things that we have yet to address, the book surveys the most current research as it tries to identify strategies and topics that have significant impact on issues that women have in the field.

This illustrated work examines inventions and discoveries made by women, beginning with the first patent application made in 1637 and ending with the outbreak of war in 1914. Accounts of the stories of the inventions are placed into the context in which their discoveries were made.

Nanotechnology is enabling applications in materials, microelectronics, health, and agriculture, which are projected to create the next big shift in production, comparable to the industrial revolution. Such major shifts always co-evolve with social relationships. This book focuses on how nanotechnologies might affect equity/equality in global society. Nanotechnologies are likely to open gaps by gender, ethnicity, race, and ability status, as well as between developed and developing countries, unless steps are taken now to create a different outcome. Organizations need to change their practices, and cultural ideas must be broadened if currently disadvantaged groups are to have a more equal position in nano-society rather than a more disadvantaged one. Economic structures are likely to shift in the nano-revolution, requiring policymakers and participatory processes to invent new institutions for social welfare, better suited to the new economic order than those of the past.

"Increasingly, scientists are gaining control over matter at the nanometer scale. Spearheaded by physical scientists operating at the interfaces of physics and biology (such as the author herself), advances in nanoscience and technology are transforming how we think about life and treat human health. This is due to a convergence of size. To do medicine, one must understand and be able to reach the nanoscale environment of healthy cells in tissues and organs, as well as other nano-sized building blocks that constitute a living organism, such as proteins and DNA. The ground-breaking advances being made at the frontiers of nanoscience and -technology, specifically in the areas of biology and medicine, are the subject of this short, popular-level book. Chapter 1 describes how nanotechnology and quantitative methods in biology are progressively being deployed to embrace life in all its multiscale, hierarchical intricacy and multiplicity. Chapters 2 through 4 review how bioinspired and biomimetic nanostructures and nanomachines are being created and integrated into strategies aimed at solving specific medical problems. In particular, Chapter 2 summarizes how scientists are seeking to build artificial nanostructures using both biological molecules and the organizational principles of biology. Chapter 3 gives an account of how nanotechnology is being used to develop drug-delivery strategies that specifically target cancer cells and tumors to improve the efficacy of current cancer chemotherapies. Chapter 4 reviews the science of one of the most potentially transformative scientific fields: tissue engineering. In a concluding chapter (Chapter 5), Contera reviews how nanotechnology, biology, and medicine will continue fusing with other sciences and technologies - incorporating more mathematical and computational modelling, as well as AI and robotics. Nanoscale devices will be used to learn biology; and biology will be used to inspire increasingly sophisticated "transmaterial" devices that mimic some of the characteristics of biology and incorporate new features that are not available in the biological world. The effects on human health and longevity will be profound. In a more personal epilogue, Contera describes the crossroads at which we find ourselves. Accessing our own biology evokes a mixture of possibility and dread. However, Contera maintains that we can create a positive transmaterial world for the benefit of humankind, and she describes ways in which scientists are proactively engaging with the public, politicians, industry, and entrepreneurs, as well as the media and the arts, to communicate the power and risks of new advances and to influence the ways in which new technologies will affect our future"--

This is a vital book for those who care about the environment, society and deploying new technology to check the destructive power of humankind.- Allan Thornton, President, Environmental Investigation Agency, Washington, DC., and recipient of the Albert Schweitzer MedalThis book will shake conventional environmental wisdom to its roots. ... A landmark work that should be read by environmentalists and businesspersons alike.- Patrick Moore, cofounder, Greenpeace; president, GreenspiritIn Our Molecular Future [Mulhall] neatly outlines why our increasing ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules is a concern, and lays out the opportunities and threats this technology presents. And it''s surprisingly readable, unlike most of the nanobabble in the science journals. In the end, as Mulhall admits, he poses more questions than he answers. But that''s a good place to start.-New ScientistI just finished reading Douglas Mulhall''s outstanding new book Our Molecular Future . . . and I highly recommend it. Put this one at the top of your list! . . . In an easy to read format, with very few forays into geek-speak, Mulhall presents his well considered and thoroughly researched theories. Overall, an excellent overview for those who wish to understand how disruptive and enabling technologies may save us from ourselves and from mother nature. And along the way you will learn a lot about how nanoscale technologies may enhance our lives, provide abundance for all, and greatly raise the standard of living for everyone. . . . Rating: five stars out of five.- Rocky Rawstern, Nanotech NowWhat Alvin Toffler''s Future Shock was to the 20th century, Our Molecular Future will be to the 21st century.'What will happen to our jobs, health care, and investments when the molecular revolution hits?How might artificial intelligence transform our lives?How can molecular technologies help us cope with climate changes, earthquakes, and other extreme natural threats?Our Molecular Future explores some intriguing possibilities that answer these questions and many others. Douglas Mulhall describes the exponential changes that are about to be wrought by the nanotechnology and robotic revolutions, which promise to reduce the scale of computing to the nanometerùa billionth of a meterùwhile increasing computing power to almost unimaginable levels.The resulting convergence of genetics, robotics, and artificial intelligence may give us hitherto undreamed-of capacities to transform our environment and ourselves. In the not-so-distant future, our world may include machines that scour our arteries to prevent heart disease, cars and clothes that change color at our whim, exotic products built in our own desktop factories, and enhancements to our personal financial security despite greatly accelerated obsolescence.But while technology is making these fantastic leaps, we may also encounter surprises that throw us into disarray: climate changes, earthquakes, or even a seemingly improbable asteroid collision. These extremes are not the nightmare scenarios of sensationalists, Mulhall stresses, nor are many of them human induced. Instead, they may be part of nature''s cycleùrecurring more often than we''ve thought possible.The good news is that this convergence of catastrophe and technological transformation may work to our advantage. If we''re smart, according to Mulhall, we can use molecular machines to protect ourselves from nature''s worst extremes, and harness their potential benefits to usher in an economic renaissance.This visionary link between future technology and past disasters is a valuable guide for every one of us who wants to be prepared for the twenty-first century.Further Praise for OUR MOLECULAR FUTURE:A provocative and profoundly convincing message from the future.- Graham Hancock, archaeological journalist and author of Fingerprints of the GodsIn a breezy, journalistic style, Our Molecular Future takes us on a tour through some of the issues that will preoccupy ma

Small things add up: trillions of dollars of products applying nanotechnology have been marketed to consumers promising new medicines, strong packaging to protect goods from contamination, stronger eyelash mascara and long-lasting lipstick, construction materials for housing, cheaper energy, and new drugs to fight cancer. Nanotechnology applications to consumer products represent a huge slice of daily economic life, heralding a revolutionary age for science and technology. How can the benefits of nanotechnology be realized while protecting public health? Global Health Impacts of Nanotechnology Law: A Tool for Stakeholder Engagement fills a major void in legal, scientific policy discourse about nanotechnology for people who are curious about nanoscience, bioethics, and law. The pioneering, plain-language text of Dr. Ilise L. Feitshans, international health law scholar and former international civil servant, enables readers to move comfortably across disciplines and explore how nanotechnology can reshape both commerce and public health to improve daily life worldwide.

"As this fast-paced nanothriller unfolds, readers are taken on a tour de force of nanotechnology's promises and perils - until the fate of the earth itself hangs in the balance."--BOOK JACKET.

Nanotechnology is key to the design and manufacture of the new generation of cosmetics. Nanotechnology can enhance the performance and properties of cosmetics, including colour, transparency, solubility, texture, and durability. Sunscreen products, such as UV nano-filters, nano-TiO2 and nano-ZnO particles, can offer an advantage over their traditional counterparts due to their broad UV-protection and non-cutaneous side effects. For perfumes, nano-droplets can be found in cosmetic products including Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum. Nanomaterials can also be used in cosmetics as transdermal drug delivery systems. By using smart nanocontainers, active compounds such as vitamins, antioxidants, nutrients, and anti-inflammatory, anti-infective agents, can be delivered effectively. These smart nanocontainers are typically related with the smart releasing property for their embedded active substances. These smart releases could be obtained by using the smart coatings as their outer nano-shells. These nano-shells could prevent the direct contact between these active agents and the adjacent local environments. Nanocosmetics: Fundamentals, Applications and Toxicity explores the formulation design concepts and emerging applications of nanocosmetics. The book also focuses on the mitigation or prevention of their potential nanotoxicity, potential global regulatory challenges, and the technical challenges of mass implementation. It is an important reference source for materials scientists and pharmaceutical scientists looking to further their understanding of how nanotechnology is being used for the new generation of cosmetics. - Outlines the major fabrication and formulation design concepts of nanoscale products for cosmetic applications - Explores how nanomaterials can safely be used for various applications in cosmetic products - Assesses the major challenges of using nanomaterials for cosmetic applications on a large scale

This book examines the lives and contributions of American women physicists who were active in the years following World War II, during the middle decades of the 20th century. It covers the strategies they used to survive and thrive in a time where their gender was against them. The percentage of PhD’s in physics has risen for 6% in 1983 to 20% in 2012 (an all-time high for women). By understanding the history of women in physics, these gains can continue. It discusses to major classes of women physicists; those who worked on military projects, and those who worked in industrial laboratories and at universities largely in the late 1940s and 1950s. While it includes minimal discussion of physics and physicists in the 1960s and later, this book focuses on the challenges and successes of women physicists in the years immediately following World War II and before the eras of affirmative actions and the use of the personal computer.