Thanks in part to the efforts of UW-Madison professors and students, a group of citizens held a press conference at the capitol Thursday to present recommendations on the development of nanotechnology after spending a month learning about the rapidly advancing field and discussing it among themselves and with experts.
Nanotechnology deals with the manipulation of particles that are one millionth of a millimeter.
The citizens met as part of a \consensus conference."" In this process, modeled after a technique popularized in Europe, citizens attempt to learn about and have more of a say concerning technological issues.
Daniel Kleinmann, UW-Madison associate professor of rural sociology and integrated liberal studies, and Maria Powell, post-doctoral research associate at the La Follette School of Public Affairs co-organized this event, which Powell characterized as one of the first of its kind in the United States.
Powell said that consensus conferences allow citizens to get involved in issues they might not usually consider.
""When people have more of a say, they're much more inclined to learn and look stuff up ... and I definitely saw that with this group,"" Powell said.
Joshua Grice, a UW-Madison senior, is in Kleinmann's rural sociology class and was a member of the citizen panel. He recalled that planning the conference was a major part of the course and said participating in the conference was a valuable experience.
""I thought it was an excellent opportunity to interact with people with varied experiences outside the university,"" Grice said. ""It was kind of a really interesting new way to investigate and understand a technological issue.""
Clark Miller, assistant professor of public affairs at UW-Madison was among the experts who answered questions from the citizen panel. He praised the panel for asking a wide variety of questions that ranged from potential products that could make use of nanotechnology, to various risks and downsides that might accompany the use of nanomaterials. Miller was optimistic about the use of consensus conferences in the future.
""I think we can develop some very effective ways to bring scientists and citizens together to think about where technology is going and what that's going to mean for society,"" he said.
Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, attended the press conference and received the recommendations of the citizen panel. She said she finds it important for the public to attempt learning about and form opinions on new, sometimes controversial technology.
The panel's recommendations include a priority on public safety and a call for increased funding for nanotechnology.
