Sri Lanka can leap-frog into the future

through Nanotechnology
September 9, 2014
Open campaign for learning nanotechnology
When the new students arrived in the ang!o!"based international
university, #sian $nstitute of %echnology a month ago, a poster displayed
practically on every wall on campus had invited students to o&er courses on
nanotechnology' $t had boldly announced( )*anotechnology will be the
future of the scienti+c world and students would immensely bene+t by
o&ering those courses' Such an open campaign for enlisting students in
nanotechnology courses has been very common in universities in advanced
countries supported by leading private +rms' ut it is still a rarity in higher
educational institutions in Sri ,an!a where the sub-ect matter is not yet
!nown even within the faculties of sciences'.






$nitiative by S$/ Sri ,an!a 0hapter
%o +ll the vacuum, an international thin!"tan! 1 the Sri ,an!a 0hapter of the
Washington /0"based Society for $nternational /evelopment or S$/ 1 had
organised a conference in 0olombo two wee!s ago on the apt theme
2%echnology and /evelopment( 0an nanotechnology leap"frog the
development process34 %he current 5resident of S$/ 1 Sri ,an!a 0hapter /r'
6pananda 7idanapathirana, e8plained why the conference was initiated(
),oo!ing at emerging global trends and developments in the technology
sphere, it is essential to position Sri ,an!a to ta!e full advantage of these
opportunities for the economy to reach a higher growth momentum'
*anotechnology is considered one of the fastest growing sectors and one
that is pro-ected to grow e8ponentially into the ne8t decade'.
#n assembly of a gamut of e8perts and policy ma!ers
%o attain this goal S$/ 1 Sri ,an!a 0hapter had assembled a
gamut of policyma!ers and e8perts on the sub-ect to address
the conference' 9rom the :overnment4s side, it was addressed
by two bigwigs in the science and technology +eld in Sri
,an!a 1 Senior ;inister of Scienti+c #&airs %issa 7itharana
and ;inister of %echnology, <esearch and #tomic 5ower
5atalie 0hampi!a <anawa!a'
$t was also addressed by 0ambridge 6niversity /on and Sri
,an!an"born top scientist 5rofessor :ehan #maratunga' %hree
other e8perts on the sub-ect 1 5rofessor #-ith de #lwis of
;oratuwa 6niversity, /r' andula 5erera of 5ublic 6tilities 0ommission and
#nush!a Wi-esinghe of the $nstitute of 5olicy Studies, participated in the
subse=uent panel discussion'
Sri ,an!a4s snail pace march, while the world is moving fast
%he initiative by S$/ 1 Sri ,an!a 0hapter to bring both policy"ma!ers and
e8perts on the sub-ect together to a single forum is commendable' When
other countries had in fact leapfrogged in nanotechnology a long time ago,
Sri ,an!a4s trac! record in that respect had not been that encouraging'
Singapore, before the advent of the new millennium, instructed all its
higher education institutions to concentrate on research and education in
nanotechnology, among others, and supported both the *anyang $nstitute
of %echnology and the *ational 6niversity of Singapore with generous
government grants to underta!e research in the sub-ect'
South >orea, through government funding, initiated a 1?"year
nanotechnology development initiative in 2001 with the ob-ective of -oining
the league of world4s nanotechnology leaders by 201?' Several countries in
the region -umped the bandwagon of South >orea to develop partnerships
in nanotechnology research and development wor!' %wo such countries are
%hailand and $ndia'
# ,u8 <esearch <eport 1 an independent research and advisory +rm based
in oston, 6S# 1 issued in 2010 has categorised South >orea as a dominant
nanotechnology nation in the world among three other nations, namely,
6S#, :ermany and @apan' $t has also identi+ed the 6> 1 the country which
came up with nanotechnology initial research through its 6niversity of
Susse8 with Aarry >roto as the main researcher 1 as an ivory tower nation
with high nano !nowledge' Similarly, 0hina and $ndia are emerging nations
in the +eld Bavailable at( http(CCelectroi='comCblogC2010C0DCran!ing"the"
nationsCE'
5ublic"private partnership in nanotechnology research
Sri ,an!a4s nanotechnology initiative bore fruits with the establishment of
the Sri ,an!a $nstitute of *anotechnology, or S,$*%F0, a product of
indefatigable e&orts of Senior ;inister %issa 7itharana' %his writer recalls a
meeting with him in 200D at which he e8plained the enormous diGculties
he faced in setting up a research institute in Sri ,an!a due to the lu!ewarm
attitude of top policyma!ers'
%hus, the leftist"policy oriented 7itharana went for a novel model of
establishing S,$*%F0 as a public"private partnership at which research was
lin!ed to commercial development through the private sector' *ow of
course Sri ,an!a has gone full way in that direction by establishing a
nanotechnology par! in a satellite town close to 0olombo' Het, graduates
passing out with nanotechnology as the ma-or +eld do not +nd suitable
employment +tting to their s!ills'
%his writer recently met a +rst class honours graduate from a local
university with nanotechnology as the +eld of specialisation wor!ing as an
administrative oGcer in a government department signing certi+cates' Aer
choice of the -ob in the administrative service was due to her inability to
secure a -ob in her specialised +eld for nearly three years' %hat was
because there were no private or government nanotechnology"based
institutions that could absorb her as a potential employee' $n this scenario,
the initiative by S$/ 1 Sri ,an!a 0hapter will create the necessary dialogue
between the private sector at large and the budding nanotechnology
research arm in the country to tap this resource base to design its destiny'
*ano, stronger but lighter than steel
*ano means very small 1 precisely, one billionth of a thing' # nanometre
means one billionth of a metre' $ts small siIe can be gauged by considering
the fact that a virus is 100 nanometres large 1 the current accepted
benchmar! of the ma8imum siIe of a nano"machine' %he discovery of
nanocarbons of such a small siIe was the beginning of the subse=uent nano
revolution that has changed the world today' *anocarbons are more
eGcient, stronger and lighter than many materials that have been so far
discovered' Aence, as :ehan #maratunga mentioned in his speech at the
conference, nanocarbons will help the world to produce more with less
signifying its economic eGciency, de+nitely a plus point which it presents in
this resource"constrained world' # test done in 2010 has revealed that
nanocarbon cylinders are 11J times stronger than steel and K0 times
stronger than >evlar used in bulletproof vests Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'cnet'comCnewsCbehold"the"strength"of"carbon"nanotubesCLM E'
%he application of nanotechnology in modern production processes are so
diverse that there is practically no area where it is not used'
*ano to help you grow your body organs
$n medicine, a nanomachine operated through a computer outside can
travel along a human vein to a point bloc!ed by solidi+ed lipids and repair
the same obviating the necessity for a bypass surgery or an angioplasty
therapy' /rugs can be directly administered through the s!in 1 a more
portent method than ta!ing them orally as is being done today'
$n biomedical and bioengineering applications, nanotubes can be used as
biodegradable sca&olds for growing body organs, generating tissues and
engineering bones by genetic engineering means' %hus, a patient with a
malfunctioning !idney, for instance, does not have to wait for a donor for a
!idney transplant but could have his own !idney cultivated in a laboratory'
Structures through nanotubes
$n structural applications, nanotubes have come in handy because of their
lightness, Ne8ibility and superior strength' %he list of application is long
from day to day structures li!e clothing, sports"gear, combat -ac!ets and
larger applications li!e building tall space elevators for astronomers and
scientists to travel to satellites positioned in outer space with ease' %he
current method of travelling to space by getting them shot into space
through roc!ets is not only costly but also ris!y' One important application
of nanotubes is the replacement of steel in building large structures
including high"rise buildings'
*ano to help solve global energy problem
$n electricity, nanotubes are used for producing nanotube based transistors,
lighter but more portent batteries, and electric wires and cables' ut the
most revolutionary application is the nano"solar 1 a nanoturbine that can
harvest solar energy at a low cost' 0urrent research done in many
universities in 6S#, mainly the 6niversity of *otre /ame, has produced a
low cost nanoparticle based low cost solar cells Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'technologyreview'comCnewsC40J4K2Ccheap"nano"solar"cellsCE'
# 0alifornia based company $nnovalight is now planning to develop a nano"
solar cell li!e a dot and mi8 it up with common paints so that it could be
applied to outer walls of a building to harvest solar energy' %his method will
replace the current silicone based solar panels Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'solarcompanies'comCnanoOsolarOtechnologyE' 0arbon nanotubes
are also used as superior conductors of electricity and heat'
9our leading nations in nanotechnology
%hus, nanotechnology is the newest scienti+c revolution and its applications
and uses are numerous' $ts commercial harvesting has been the latest
brea!through for business +rms' #ccording to %e8as *anotechnology <eport
200D, by 2020, the total siIe of the nanotechnology mar!et will be around P
2'Q trillion' Aowever, this target has been reached by nanotechnology
producers by 2014 and its siIe today is as big as that of information and
communication technology mar!et and much bigger than the biotechnology
mar!et'
ut this has been attained by world nations by investing heavily in
nanotechnology research and development 1 an enterprise underta!en by
both the government sector and the private sector' $n 200?, the total
investment in <R/ in nanotechnology by the four big nations, namely, 6S#,
F6, @apan and South >orea amounted to P 4'4 billion' y 2009, this has
gone up to P 1D billion'
%he world4s largest nanotechnology researcher has been 6S# where the
annual research publications on the sub-ect e8ceed 1D,000' %here has been
a phenomenal increase in such publications since 199J and the total of the
publications by other leaders combined is well below this +gure'
%he number of patents in nanotechnology by 6S entities from 1990 to 2012
has amounted to 2K,0J0 while the combined number of patents by @apan,
South >orea and :ermany stood at Q,K12' %he number of nanotechnology
based patents by the top 20 countries during this period amounted to
K4,402 and of that about two third had been obtained by 6S institutions'
Sri ,an!a should go for a comple8 economy system
%hus, nanotechnology is the ne8t big thing for the world and it is the ne8t
big thing for Sri ,an!a' %his is because Sri ,an!a has to convert its simple
economy into a comple8 economy if it is to sustain its current economic
growth and beat the oncoming middle income country trap' %his writer has
emphasised on this need in a number of articles in this series'
%he importance of Sri ,an!a to have a concrete road map in order to ma!e
it a technologically advanced nation was discussed in an article under the
title 2ecoming a technologically advanced nation4 Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'ft'l!C201KC12C1JCbecoming"a"technologically"advanced"nationCE'
%he oncoming global technological revolution and its impact on Sri ,an!a
was presented in an article titled 2;iracle of %echnology( %he second
industrial revolution is in the oGng4 Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'ft'l!C201KC0JC0DCmiracle"of"technology"the"second"industrial"
revolution"is"in"the"oGngCE'
Aow Sri ,an!a could get into a comple8 production system was analysed in
two articles' One was under the title 20omple8ity Fconomics( Aow Sri ,an!a
could move into a comple8 production system4 Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'ft'l!C2012C09C24Ccomple8ity"economics"how"sl"could"move"into"
a"comple8"production"systemCE'
%he other was titled 2Sri ,an!a4s 9uture( 0onvert the simple economy into a
high tech based comple8 economy4 Bavailable at(
http(CCwww'ft'l!C2012C09C1JCsls"future"convert"the"simple"economy"into"a"
high"tech"based"comple8"economyCE'
Sri ,an!a is missing the bus
# general observation made in these articles is that Sri ,an!a has already
missed the 2global technology"bus4 by being a passive spectator of the
world4s developments in that area' %he other countries in the region had
teamed up with world4s giants in technology and e8tracted a high e8ternal
bene+t by being a partner of technological developments' Singapore did so
by lin!ing its universities to the best universities in 6S# and attracting
foreign direct investments or 9/$s from large corporations which had
already developed high technology' South >orea, ;alaysia, %aiwan and
%hailand had attracted 9/$s with high technology' Sri ,an!a could have
been a brea!out nation in early 19D0s but the costly ethnic war and the
insane reaction of ma-ority Sri ,an!ans had prevented worthwhile 9/$s from
coming in' #n e8ample often cited, as reported by Saman >elegama on
page ?J of in his 2/evelopment 6nder Stress4, is the shifting of the
proposed manufacturing plants of two ma-or electronics multinationals,
;otorola and Aarris 0orporation from Sri ,an!a to ;alaysia and elsewhere,
respectively, due to the ethnic riots of 19DK' %herefore, it has been
suggested that Sri ,an!a should now restart its e&orts at converting its
economy into a comple8 economy which also includes development of
nanotechnology'
%he need is for general scienti+c developments
Aolding a similar view, ;inister <anawa!a had indicated in his address at
the conference that relying on one particular sector will not be suitable for
Sri ,an!a to map out its future development strategy' %he ;inister being an
engineer himself !new of the limitation which a country will have if it has
concentrated only on one industry' %hus, he had suggested that while
developing nanotechnology, Sri ,an!a should start developing other high
tech areas as well' %his is indeed a must but it is not without formidable
challenges'
With a proper strategy for attracting better 9/$s involving high technology
and establishing the ground conditions for such 9/$s to Now into the
country, Sri ,an!a could de+nitely ma!e itself a brea!out nation' %hese
ground conditions include, as this writer has been arguing throughout, the
protection of property rights, observance of the <ule of ,aw, maintenance
of law and order and establishment of an independent -udiciary'
$nventions should be supported by innovation and di&usion
S,$*%F0 has during 2009"12 +led applications for seven patents in 6S# and
sold two of the patents to commercial manufacturers' #s #ustrian"#merican
economist @oseph Schumpeter presented in his 194K boo! 20apitalism,
Socialism and /emocracy4, three conditions should be satis+ed for
sustainable economic growth( $nvention, $nnovation and /i&usion'
$nventions 1 the seven patents which S,$*%F0 has applied for are e8amples
1 they are new creations but they alone are not suGcient for economic
growth'
%hey should be commercially used by entrepreneurs through a process
called 2innovation4 and for innovation to happen, they should be made
available to prospective entrepreneurs through di&usion of new !nowledge'
%he sale of two patents so far by S,$*%F0 is innovation and what S$/ 1 Sri
,an!a 0hapter has done is helping it to attain di&usion through
dissemination of !nowledge' %hus, Sri ,an!a4s nanotechnology initiative,
though belated, is a modest start but it has a long way to go for it to ma!e
a real contribution to Sri ,an!a4s economy by serving as a 2leap"frogger4'
Want to leap"frog3 %hen thin! of the re=uired ground conditions
%he current research initiative in nanotechnology can certainly deliver
prosperity to Sri ,an!a by establishing suitable ground conditions for
innovation and di&usion' %hen only it can ma!e a 2leap"frog4 of the
country4s development processes' *anotechnology is therefore necessary
but not suGcient' %he necessary and suGcient conditions come from both
research on nanotechnology and establishing suitable ground conditions for
innovation and di&usion'
%hose ground conditions, as outlined above, involve development of human
capital on one hand and laying a +rm foundation for protecting property
rights on the other' #n essential prere=uisite for the latter is the observance
of the <ule of ,aw, maintenance of law and order and establishment of an
independent -udiciary in the country' ut these are beyond the scope of
either S,$*%F0 or S$/ 1 Sri ,an!a 0hapter'
BW'# Wi-ewardena, a former /eputy :overnor of the 0entral an! of Sri
,an!a, could be reached at waw1949Sgmail'comE