Scott Rickert, Nanofilm President, Offers Advice on Incorporating Nanotechnology Into Commercial Manufacturing
In Taking the Nanopulse, his monthly column for IndustryWeek.com, Dr. Scott Rickert, President of the nanotechnology company Nanofilm, offers real-world advice to manufacturers considering incorporating nanotechnology into their products.
Dr. Rickert refutes the arguments of those who fear nanotechnology is too complex for commercialized manufacturing. For help, he recommends partnerships with nanotechnology experts, not simply materials suppliers. He also suggests that industry conferences in virtually every field now include sessions on nanotechnology which can supply expertise.
He acknowledges the fact that bringing nanotechnology into a new manufacturing environment requires expertise. “There are instant mashed potatoes. Instant pudding. Instant cocoa. But there’s no such thing as instant nanotechnology,” he says. However, Dr. Rickert concludes that the added value nanotechnology can bring to products is worth the effort of commercialization. “Nanotechnology isn’t a plug-and-play solution yet, but it is up to the challenge,” he asserts. “Aren’t you?”
Nanofilm, co-founded by Dr. Rickert in 1985, makes performance-enhanced nanofilms, nanocomposite films and surface care for the optical, transportation, energy, sports and other markets. A frequent speaker at nanotechnology conferences, he most recently addressed the Nanotech Business Summit in Cairo, Egypt, in December, 2009, on the topic “Nano-izing Today’s Surfaces to Solve Energy, Environmental, And Waste Problems.” Nanofilm is a privately held company with headquarters in Valley View, Ohio, near Cleveland. www.nanfilmtechnology.
About Nanofilm
Nanofilm’s history can be traced to the earliest pioneering of nanotechnology. In the early 1980s, Nanofilm co-founder, Dr. Scott Rickert, was already researching self-assembling thin films as part of his work as a professor at Case Western Reserve University. The company began as a spin-off of that research and was co-founded by Dr. Rickert and businessman Don McClusky in 1985. The company’s initial expertise enabled the manipulation of coatings at the molecular level to enhance the durability, clarity, ease of use and performance of transparent materials.
Source: Nanotechnology Now
