TPAC - Technology Policy and Assessment Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Examination of activity patterns in the literature ("bibliometrics") provides a useful set of indicators of the development of a field. We share with you some interesting indicators that suggest that nanotechnology is emerging -- rapidly; in multifaceted ways; and with a diverse cast of participants.

We draw on analyses of two major databases -- INSPEC and SCI -- the Science Citation Index.[2] Preliminary scans of two other electronic databases found very few U.S. Patents explicitly mentioning nanotechnology and roughly 10 percent as many abstracts in Engineering Index as in INSPEC.

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