Nanotechnology: Awareness and societal concerns

This study addresses current social and ethical concerns as well as the public's perception of research and development in nanotechnology. Significant efforts have to be made to increase public awareness of this new field in order to avoid unexpected and/or unwarranted backlash. Results from a survey on nanotechnology awareness are presented, showing that only 17% of the respondents were able to identify what nanotechnology is, with 76% of the respondents being men.