Program managers, policy makers, scientists and engineers from North America, Europe and Asia Pacific nations met at Monterey, California with a call for global cooperation to pool the available resources to transform revolutionary micro and nano-technologies concepts into plans for developing new MNT-based materials and Aerospace system prototypes within the next three years.  These plans provide private and government investors with an offer that is too good to refuse.

In recent years nanotechnology has captured the public imagination with the exciting promise of new, mind-boggling products for the home, consumer electronics, transportation, and health care, based on unique phenomena that occur at a billionth-of-a-meter scale.  However, given the hard lessons learned from past experience, many of these concepts are doomed to remain laboratory curiosities and never make it to the marketplace.

Due to the major effort of the CANEUS organization and representatives of the leading Aerospace and Defense agencies including NASA and DoD, from the United States, ESA from Europe, and JAXA of Japan, now an ambitious undertaking is about to change the status quo forever.  The CANEUS Conference and Workshop has been determined to find rapid and cost-effective means to transition exciting new concepts to products that could revolutionize aerospace and other important markets, which will ensure that micro and nanotechnology (MNT) does not become a passing fad. CANEUS 2004 was based on the premise that several key skills and functions need to come together to make this important transition happen for the mutual benefit of inventors and customers.

"The next step is to produce over the next six months, real and meaningful “deliverables” in the form of well-rounded business plans, by incorporating the combined wisdom of the assembled community”. The objective is to initiate pilot projects to transform revolutionary MNT concepts into high-performance aerospace systems.

More than 250 delegates from over dozen nations including the top five who are
leading the MNT developments attended the conference.

With a strong support from NASA and North American, European, and Asian governments, the CANEUS network consists of researchers, technology developers, industry professionals and investors from around the world.  The objective is to construct a coherent, end-to-end technology development strategy that has the blessing of MNT researchers, industry leaders, agency program directors, government and private investors, military executives and civilian buyers of aerospace products.

This first-of-its-kind initiative provided attendees with deep insights into all aspects of the technology development pipeline from the initial proof-of-principle through the manufacture of high-reliability products. Attendees also had unprecedented access to leading researchers from international institutions developing exciting MNT materials and devices, heads of companies that develop MNT-based systems, directors of agency programs that fund MNT research, government and private investors, and top executives from aerospace companies who are looking to the next generation of MNT-based systems.

The CANEUS 2004 “Monterey declaration” laid the roadmap to provide a total walk-through of all the stages necessary to move a concept from the research stage to the manufacturing process.   The concepts will be nurtured to maturity over the next two years, working through the process for presentation at the CANEUS 2006 Conference to be hosted in Toulouse, France.

"The declaration also addressed the challenge of efficiently transitioning aerospace MNT development from a mostly low TRL (Technology Readiness Level) stage to system-level implementations and the creation of an Aerospace MNT development "pipeline".

Fourteen technology-working groups were commissioned from topics matter specialists who researched MNT areas and recommended the development of specific technologies, which are still at the conceptual level, into practical devices and systems.

The Concept Coordinators said that it is our hope that many of these Concept Papers could serve as blueprints for technology development pilot projects aimed at transitioning these proven MNT concepts to working aerospace systems, and furthermore should set common standards all over the world.

The CANEUS-sponsored R&D projects will give participants from the three regions privileged access to the first-round of research, funding and manufacturing opportunities as pilot project prototypes demonstrate their advantages over existing systems. This has attracted the participation of industry leaders including the Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, GE Aircraft Engines, Airbus, BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre, Hewlett Packard, EADS, Alcatel Space Industries, Goodrich Corporation, and Motorola, as well as high-profile investors and program managers from leading government agencies such as NASA, AFRL, US Navy, US Army, Dept. of Commerce, ATP, NSF and others. High-profile investors and manufacturers focused on non-aerospace sectors were also at CANEUS 2004, as it is expected that MNT technologies developed will quickly find application in other fields.

The declaration touched on the need to create and implement a framework for funding such international initiatives.

The declaration also noted a number of challenges such as ITAR and inter-governmental agreements, which remain and urged the policy-makers to address them.

The CANEUS Organization and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), in partnership with the NASA and the Centre for Large Space Structures and Systems (CLS3), hosted CANEUS 2004, a forum for discussions on MNT-based system development for aerospace applications, leading to a selection of few pilot projects aimed at such development. 

The next CANEUS 2006 will be held in France during August / September 2006 followed by the 2008 meeting in Asia Pacific region.