Scholar to examine challenges of nanotechnology

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Dr. Roy Schwartzman

Dozens of medical, household and cosmetic products contain nanoparticles -- particles with at least one dimension smaller than 100 billionths of a meter. But though the use of nanotechnology is increasingly common, few people have more than a sketchy notion of how this rapidly advancing science of tiny things is changing the world.

Dr. Roy Schwartzman, a former Northwest faculty member who now teaches at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, will discuss the challenges involved in marketing nanotechnology during a guest lecture at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in meeting room A of the J.W. Jones Student Union.

“Nanotechnology promises massive benefits, from eliminating the dangers of chemotherapy to cleaning up environmental disasters,” said Schwartzman, a technology communications specialist. “But a huge gap separates scientific and public understanding of the risks.”

The perception of nanotechnology’s risks and rewards can demonize or deify innovative research, believes Schwartzman, who sees a need for increased levels of public awareness.

“Public discussion of nanotechnology poses unique problems,” he said. “The very language and concept of risk may need to change and adapt to the ways that nanotechnology violates conventional wisdom about technological hazards. … The key question is how do we stimulate valuable research while maintaining critical awareness.”

Schwartzman, a professor of communication studies, is vice president of the Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology. He also serves on the advisory board of the Center for Critical Inquiry in the Liberal Arts.

His research has won more than a dozen national awards, and his work on nanotechnology appears in the new book, “Knowledge Management: Foundation and Principles.” He is also the author of “Fundamentals of Oral Communication” and more than 50 scholarly articles.

Schwartzman’s lecture is being sponsored by the Northwest chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).

For more information about this event, call Dr. John Fisher, assistant professor of communication, theatre and languages, at 660.562.1827 (ext. 1827 on campus) or e-mail jfisher@nwmissouri.edu.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone: 660.562.1704
Fax: 660.562.1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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