Cal Poly Nanoethics Group Publishes Anthology

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly's Nanoethics Group has published an anthology of articles looking at emerging issues created by technological advances.

The anthology, “Nanotechnology & Society: Current and Emerging Ethical Issues,” features 16 papers focused on the most urgent issues arising from nanotechnology today and in the near future, said Patrick Lin.

Lin is co-editor of the book, director of The Nanoethics Group, and a visiting assistant professor in Cal Poly’s Philosophy Department.

Written by leading researchers, policy experts and nanoethics scholars worldwide, the book tackles such contentious issues as environmental impact, health dangers, medical benefits, intellectual property, professional code of ethics, privacy, and international governance.

“Nanotechnology & Society: Current and Emerging Ethical Issues” is published by Springer, a leading publisher of science, technology and medical books. The publisher has more than 150 Nobel Prize-winners on its author’s list.

Fritz Allhoff of Western Michigan University co-edited the volume with Lin. Papers were authored by Raj Bawa, Bawa Biotechnology Consulting; David Berube, North Carolina State University; Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Stanford; Drew Harris, Graves Dougherty Hearon and Moody; Summer Johnson, Albany Medical College; Thomas Powers, University of Delaware; Jason Robert, Arizona State University; Ashley Shew, Virginia Tech; Joachim Schummer, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany; Paul Thompson, Michigan State; Jeroen van den Hoven, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands; and Arthur Zucker, Ohio University.

Canada’s Commission de l'Éthique de la Science et de la Technologie, the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, Meridian Institute, and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars also contributed papers.

For more information on The Nanoethics Group and the anthology, go to www.nanoethics.org. A sample chapter and more information can be accessed at www.springer.com/philosophy/book/978-1-4020-6208-7.

About The Nanoethics Group
Based at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), The Nanoethics Group is a nonpartisan research organization comprised of professional ethicists who study nanotechnology’s impact on society and related ethical issues. The group aims to identify and evaluate possible harms and conflicts as well as bring balance and common sense to the debate. For more information, visit www.nanoethics.org.

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