Last week in Boston, the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA), a national nonprofit trade association for nanotechnology-enabled business, held a NanoBusiness conference where the association announced the "Top Nanotech Innovators of 2012," highlighting companies that create novel and potentially disruptive technologies in the nanotech sector. NanoBCA recognized 20 large corporations as well as 20 emerging enterprises. The Figure below highlights NanoBCA's view of the top nanotechnology innovators for 2012 and specifies the area(s) for which the company was recognized.
The firms listed below were announced in the Nanotechnology Commercialization session of the 11th Annual NanoBusiness Conference and Nanomanufacturing Summit—an annual gathering of nanotechnology innovators, startups, researchers, government leaders, and investors—held September 4-6, 2012, in Boston, Massachusetts. The NanoBusiness conference was hosted by NanoBCA and included a Nanomanufacturing Summit organized by the National Nanomanufacturing Network.
The Two Largest Nanotech Hubs in the U.S.: Boston and North Carolina
Between North Carolina's booming nanotech sector (>40 nanotechnology companies focused on just biotechnology developments alone) and the advanced research centers at Duke, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, and other regional universities, the state has become the second strongest hub for nanotech research and business behind Boston.
As evidence of this, nine nanotechnology companies from North Carolina were prominently featured at the 11th Annual NanoBusiness Conference in Boston. The delegation was coordinated by the Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology (COIN), a nonprofit that aims to foster growth of North Carolina nanotech firms as well as the commercialization of their technologies. Delegate members included Xanofi, Inc., NeuroNano Pharma, NanoForge Corp., RTI International, Liquidia Technologies, Inc., NanoTechLabs, Inc., Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP, and Summers Thompson Lowry, Inc.
Continued coverage of nanotechnology developments is available here.
