Ascent of Nanoscience in China--Chunli Bai



http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5731/61#ref3






The three most widely used high-tech words in China now are "computer," "gene,
" and "nanometer," according to the China Association for Science and Technolo
gy. The ability to utter these words, of course, does not guarantee that the s
peaker understands their meanings and implications. I witnessed an episode tha
t illustrates the point. A news reporter asked a woman he was interviewing for
a story about nanotechnology if she had ever heard the term "nanometer." "Yes
," the lady answered. But when the reporter asked her what she thought the wor
d meant, the woman replied that it might denote a special kind of rice. She wa
s in fact drawing upon her knowledge of the language. In Chinese, the word for
"meter" has two meanings: One refers to the unit of length, and the other mea
ns rice. The woman's misunderstanding of the term "nanometer," in this case, i
s more amusing than concerning. But as nanoscience and nanotechnology become e
ver more consequential in our lives, we in the scientific community need to be
tter inform and educate the public about the transformations this new nano era
is likely to bring.
Along with its fast economic growth, China has embraced a national strategy fo
r rejuvenating the country through education and science and technology. This
strategy attaches importance to both fundamental research and the development
of technologies that are critical to social and economic development. Among th
e fields that have enjoyed particularly rapid development in China in the past
decade are nanoscience and nanotechnology. These terms refer to the growing k
nowledge base and technical framework for understanding and manipulating matte
r on nanometer scales ranging from the atomic to the cellular. Like many other
countries, we in China expect that the development of nanoscience and nanotec
hnology will greatly affect many areas of scientific research and industrial d
evelopment, and many aspects of everyday life. In time, we hope no one in Chin
a will think of rice when they hear the word "nanometer."

Nanoscience Takes Root
When the concept of nanoscience and nanotechnology was first introduced in the
1980s, it was received favorably in China. The initial interest was in part s
timulated by the development of new tools and techniques for observing materia
ls on the nanoscale, especially scanning probe microscopes (SPMs). Early explo
rations by Chinese scientists using scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs) and
other types of SPMs helped build excitement about nanoscience and nanotechnolo
gy and led to visions of new techniques for revealing nanostructures and the n
ovel properties that these structures can lead to.

Soon after the concept began trickling through the scientific ranks, the Chine
se Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(NSFC), and the State Science and Technology Commission (SSTC) began funding
nanoscience-related work and activities. Among the specific areas that receive
d this early support were the development of scanning tunneling microscopy, th
en a groundbreaking technique for viewing the atomic and molecular landscapes
of materials' surfaces, and nanomaterials research, in which investigators aim
to engineer the optical, electronic, and other properties of materials by pre
cisely controlling the structures' anatomy on the nanometer scale.

China also has helped those who work in nanoscience and nanotechnology to deve
lop their sense of being part of a new research and development (R&D) communit
y. Since 1990, for example, dozens of international and domestic conferences i
n the field have been held in China, including important early gatherings like
the 7th International Conference on Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (1993) and
the 4th International Conference on Nanometer-Scale Science and Technology (19
96). These meetings, both held in Beijing, addressed a wide range of topics in
nanoscience and nanotechnology and attracted wide attention and public intere
st.

In the 1990s, support for the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology in
creased substantially, largely through several major initiatives. In 1990, for
example, SSTC launched the nearly decade-long "Climbing Up" project on nanoma
terial science. In 1999, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), whose
predecessor was the SSTC, started a national basic research project entitled "
Nanomaterial and Nanostructure" and has been funding basic research on nanomat
erials, such as nanotubes, ever since. Our country's National High Technology
Plan, which encompasses many categories of technology, has included a series o
f projects for nanomaterial applications. From 1990 to 2002 alone, nearly 1000
such projects (with a total funding of about $27 million) were implemented. I
n addition, during this period, NSFC approved nearly 1000 grants for small-sca
le projects in related areas. The scope of support was also greatly expanded t
o include specific areas such as nanodevices, nanobiology and medicine, detect
ion and characterization, theory, modeling, and simulation.