Nanoethics Group Will Give Public Lecture at Yale on October 10

Ethical and societal implications of nanotechnology will be  the focus of a public lecture at Yale on October 10 from 4:15 p.m. to 7:00 pm at Yale’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS), room B-012, 77 Prospect Street.

The lecture, titled “The Rise of Nanoethics: Emerging Issues in Nanotechnology and Society,” will be given by Patrick Lin, director of The Nanoethics Group, a U.S.-based non-partisan organization that studies the ethical and societal implications of nanotechnology. The Technology and Ethics Working Group of ISPS is sponsoring the presentation.

According to Lin, the lecture will cover topics including a brief history of nanotechnology and its hype; lessons from the past, including the stem cell and genetically-modified food debates; predicted benefits from nanotechnology; and current, emerging, as well as predicted issues arising from nanotechnology, such as related to research ethics, environment, health, privacy, security, economics, and more.

With membership open to all interested persons, Yale’s Technology and Ethics Working Group examines how new technologies—including such areas a nanotechnology, pharmacologically and genetically enhanced humans, virtual reality, artificial life, cryonics, prosthetics/bionics, and cloning—can raise crucial social and ethical questions. For a calendar of events and more information about the working group, please visit the Center for Bioethics web site.