Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, AIIM Facility, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
ACS Nano. 2021 Oct 26;15(10):15940-15952. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.1c03992. Epub 2021 Jul 28.
As the twenty-first century unfolds, nanotechnology is no longer just a buzzword in the field of materials science, but rather a tangible reality. This is evident from the surging number of commercial nanoproducts and their corresponding revenue generated in different industry sectors. However, it is important to recognize that sustainable growth of nanotechnology is heavily dependent on government funding and relevant national incentive programs. Consequently, proper analyses on publicly available nanotechnology data sets comprising information on the past two decades can be illuminating, facilitate development, and amend previous strategies as we move forward. Along these lines, classical statistics and machine learning (ML) allow processing large data sets to scrutinize patterns in materials science and nanotechnology research. Herein, we provide an analysis on nanotechnology progress and investment from an unbiased, computational vantage point and using orthogonal approaches. Our data reveal both well-established and surprising correlations in the nanotechnology field and its actors, including the interplay between the number of research institutes-industry, publications-patents, collaborative research, and top contributors to nanoproducts. Overall, data suggest that, supported by incentive programs set out by stakeholders (researchers, funding agencies, policy makers, and industry), nanotechnology could experience an exponential growth and become a centerpiece for economical welfare. Indeed, the recent success of COVID-19 vaccines is also likely to boost public trust in nanotechnology and its global impact over the coming years.
随着 21 世纪的发展，纳米技术不再仅仅是材料科学领域的一个流行词，而是一个实实在在的现实。这从不同行业中涌现的大量商业纳米产品及其相应的收入就可以看出。然而，重要的是要认识到，纳米技术的可持续增长在很大程度上依赖于政府的资金投入和相关的国家激励计划。因此，对过去二十年中包含有关信息的公开纳米技术数据集进行适当分析，可以为我们提供启示，促进发展，并在前进的过程中修改以前的策略。沿着这些思路，经典统计学和机器学习 (ML) 允许处理大型数据集，以仔细研究材料科学和纳米技术研究中的模式。在此，我们从公正的、计算的角度并采用正交方法对纳米技术的进展和投资进行分析。我们的数据揭示了纳米技术领域及其参与者之间存在的既定和令人惊讶的相关性，包括研究机构-产业、出版物-专利、合作研究以及纳米产品主要贡献者之间的相互作用。总体而言，数据表明，在利益相关者（研究人员、资助机构、政策制定者和行业）制定的激励计划的支持下，纳米技术可能会经历指数级增长，并成为经济福利的核心。事实上，COVID-19 疫苗的近期成功也可能会在未来几年提高公众对纳米技术及其全球影响力的信任。
