Office of Science and Technology Policy September 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On February 22, 2013, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a 60-day public notice in the Federal Register (Federal Register Volume 78, Number 36, Docket No. 2013-04127) to invite public comment on the proposed United States Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (hereafter, Policy for Institutional DURC Oversight or Policy). This Notice responds to comments received during this 60-day public notice, sets forth final changes to the Policy for Institutional DURC Oversight, and implements the final Policy for Institutional DURC Oversight. The Policy for Institutional DURC Oversight will be updated, as needed, following domestic dialogue, international engagement, and input from interested communities including scientists, national security officials, and global health specialists and announced in the Federal Register and at https://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse.

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), on behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), will hold a technical interchange meeting entitled ``Realizing the Promise of Carbon NanotubesChallenges, Opportunities and the Pathway to Commercialization'' on September 15, 2014. The meeting will be sponsored by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and co-sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The objectives of this meeting are to identify, discuss, and report the technical barriers preventing the production of carbon nanotube-based materials with electrical and mechanical properties approaching theoretical values, and to explore ways to overcome these barriers. Obstacles preventing the full exploitation of the multifunctional nature of carbon nanotube materials will also be discussed. This one-day meeting will assemble some of the Nation's leading experts in carbon nanotube research and development, as well as executives and experts from the Federal government, academia, and private sector.