ASTM International Expands Partnership to Japans Largest Public Research Organization on Developing a Terminology Standard for Nanotechnology

Open Meetings and One-Day Workshop in May

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan has become the latest organization to sign a partnership agreement with ASTM International to develop a terminology standard for nanotechnology. AIST is an Independent Administrative Institution (IAI) in association with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). AIST represents an amalgamation of the 15 research institutes previously housed under the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (within the Ministry of International Trade and Industry). The new AIST is Japans largest public research organization, with approximately 3,200 employees in all.

Partnerships Prove Beneficial

An early priority for the recently formed ASTM International Committee E56 on Nanotechnology is the development of a globally relevant, industry-driven terminology standard. In an effort to facilitate this objective, ASTM International has signed partnership agreements with the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), NSF International, and AIST. These agreements focus solely on the issue of terminology, and will eliminate redundant resource allocation among a variety of standards organizations, provide for the pooling of technical experts in a single standards development venue and, consequently, help create a truly global terminology document in terms of input as well as application.

Attendance Encouraged at Open Meetings and Workshop

Interested individuals are encouraged to attend the next meeting of Committee E56, which will take place May 16-18, 2005, in Reno, Nev., at the Hilton Reno Resort. Following the meetings, on May 19, at the same hotel, Committee E56 will cosponsor a Workshop on Characterization of Nanomaterials for Medical and Health Applications. The workshop will provide a structured venue to address critical issues relevant to transitioning nanotechnology into clinical applications. Cosponsors of the one-day event are the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information on the E56 meetings, the workshop, or for information on Committee E56, contact Pat A. Picariello, director of developmental operations (phone: 610/832-9720; ppicarie@astm.org), or visit http://www.astm.org/COMMIT/E56.htm.

Release #7139

Committee
E56
April 1, 2005