The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has published key takeaways and a transcript for the September 19, 2018, webinar, “Technology Pathways Toward Commercializing Nanotechnology.” The webinar focused on quality control in the manufacturing process and built on NNI’s November 2017 Technology Pathways workshop. Webinar panelists Katherine Barton, Laboratory and Production Manager at Nano-C, and Doug Singer, Executive Vice President in Charge of Manufacturing, Development, and Commercialization at Cerion Advanced Materials, engaged in a dialogue about the criticality of and issues surrounding quality control in the production of nanomaterials. Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf, Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), moderated the discussion. Panelists provided a brief overview of their experiences, successes, and challenges in ensuring the quality of manufactured nanomaterials, followed by a question and answer period. The key takeaways from the webinar guests include:
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In nanomanufacturing: fail fast. Have the mindset of fail fast, learn from it, loop back, and fix the problem;
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Expect that anywhere from 25 percent to the entire technical team of a small company will play a role in the quality control process; and
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Take advantage of the ecosystem in your geographic area: companies, research institutions, and government-supported infrastructure. Engage the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for access to environmental, health, and safety resources.
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