The United States urgently needs to invest more in nanotechnology if it is to maintain its global lead in this emerging field, according to a report issued to US President Barack Obama last week.
Between 2003 and 2008, US public and private investments in nanotechnology grew at 18 per cent a year against 27 per cent a year throughout the world, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reported.
They recommended increased overall funding to coordinate the nation's research and development in nanotechnology; greater focus on commercialisation of new nanotech products; and incentives for foreign scientists and engineers studying in the United States to stay once they complete their training.
Nanotechnology - the design and manipulation of materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair - has been hailed as a way to make strong, lightweight materials, better cosmetics and even tastier food.
The United States is a global leader in the field. In 2008 it invested $5.7 billion in nanotechnology research and development, more than any other country, according to the report from the 21 advisory council members.
It is the third in a decade-long series of assessments of the National Nanotechnology Initiative or NNI, which coordinates federal research and development involving the manipulation of matter at scales smaller than 100 billionths of a metre.
"Though we are the leader, economic competition from other countries has dramatically increased," said Maxine Savitz, who chaired the NNI working group, which consisted of three members of the council and 12 non-governmental nanotechnology experts.
The group found that in 2005, the European Union outspent US government investments in nanotechnology research and development. And in 2008, Asian countries - mainly Japan, China and South Korea - spent more.
The United States has far more nanotechnology patents than any other nation. But in recent years, China has surpassed it in the number of patents applied for, the report found.
To achieve that, the working group called for a $2 million budget increase - up from the current $3 million - to strengthen the National Nanotechnology Coordinating Office, which oversees the NNI.
The report also calls for programs to retain scientific and engineering talent trained in the United States, such as the development of permanent resident cards for foreign nationals who get an advanced degree in science or engineering at a US-accredited institution and can prove they are working in science or engineering fields.