The 2008 NNEC will include technical presentations and exhibits from companies leading the nanotechnology industry. The Nano50 Awards will also be presented during the conference, showcasing the top innovators, technologies and products in nanotechnology.

About Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the creation of useful, functional materials, devices, and systems through controlling and manipulating matter on the nanometer-length scale (1-100 nanometers), and exploiting novel phenomena and properties (physical, chemical, biological, mechanical, electrical) at that length scale.

The prefix "nano" means a billionth - a nanosecond is one-billionth of a second, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter, and so on. For comparison, the head of a pin measures one million nanometers across. A red blood cell has a diameter in the range of thousands of nanometers. Ten nanometers is 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. DNA molecules are about 2.5 nanometers wide. An individual atom measures a few tenths of a nanometer in diameter. Useful applications for nanotechnology exist in areas as diverse as materials, manufacturing, bio-medical, electronics, computing, and transportation. Nanostructured metals and ceramics, for example, could be made into exact shapes without machining. Abrasives, coatings, paints, and composites all could be made stronger and better using nanoparticles. Integrated nanosensors would enable massive amounts of data to be acquired, processed, and shared with minimal size, weight, and power consumption. Less expensive remote and in-vivo devices would provide new routes for drug delivery. More durable, rejection-resistant artificial tissues and organs could be created. And in automobiles, nanotechnology can lead to wear-resistant tires, improved battery technology, and lightweight composites for increasing fuel efficiency.

The potential market for nanotechnology is huge. The National Science Foundation (NSF) predicts that nanotech innovations will create a $1 trillion business within the next 10 to 15 years. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003, authorizing $2.36 billion to be spent in the next three years on nanotechnology programs in various government agencies. In addition, the 2004 Federal Budget provides $847 million for the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), created by President Clinton in 2000 to advance the understanding of nanotechnology to contribute to improvements in medicine, manufacturing, materials, information technology, and environmental technology.