What do science and law have to do with each other? It is a lot more than you would think.
In the application of science in consumer products, many items are not regulated as of yet because of new emerging sciences, specifically nanotechnology.
Ilise L. Feitshans, a Haddonfield resident and published author, has made it her goal to work with lawyers, as well as non-lawyers, to help them understand nanotechnology and how it works in regard to the law and public health.
“Nanotechnology’s revolution for our global economy can revolutionize public health,” Feitshans said. “I’m fascinated by the question: How will the benefits of nanotechnology be realized, while minimizing the risks? “
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Haddonfield Public Library and the Mabel Kay House, Haddonfield’s senior citizens center, are joining forces for the first time to co-sponsor a presentation by Feitshans at the Haddonfield Public Library at 7 p.m. She will discuss her forthcoming book “Forecasting Nano Law.”
Feitshans is the co-author of a recent article published by the Royal Society of London concerning nanomaterials policies, and the book, “Forecasting Nano Law,” to be released next year, is based on her award-winning doctoral thesis.
Nanotechnology is everywhere, whether you know it or not. Nanotechnology can be found in refrigerators, food, makeup, textiles, solar energy and housing construction materials. What is hard is identifying what is considered nanotechnology and how it affects people in their daily lives. Because nanotechnology is so new, it is hard to put regulations on it. However, nanotechnology policy is something Feitshans feels we should be working toward.
“We have to be informed and participate in nanotechnology policy decisions. We have a very large exposure and not much data, but we still need to make these decisions anyway,” Feitshans said.
Public health and economic concerns regarding nanotechnology policy are, in her opinion, important to everybody. She feels laws should be accessible whether you are a lawyer or regular citizen because that is the only way people are going to obey law.
“When people understand the law, they obey the law,” she said.
The importance of explaining nanotechnology’s revolution to regular people, citizens who are consumers and stakeholders in the international system, is her greatest challenge
“My life’s work is about this idea of making the law accessible so people can obey it. So they know why they are following the rule and understand it,” Feitshans said.
During her doctoral studies, Feitshans gave more than 45 seminars and webinars for lawyers, doctors, engineers and the general public in more than 14 nations in Europe, Asia and the United States. Making her presentations understandable across cultures, across disciplines and for non-technical general audiences became her mission.
“You should not need a PhD in nanotechnology in order to understand some basic policy questions that the emerging science raises,” Feitshans said. “We are all consumers of nanotechnology applications, and we need better information in order to make nano-based decisions in our daily life.”
Bringing this same approach home to the Haddonfield Library and then into hard copy in her new book is the next big step in the global health education process that applications of nanotechnology require.
At the Haddonfield Library, Feitshans hopes to have an open discussion about nanotechnology as well as inform residents about the process of writing a book. Having published many books, Feitshans knows how to go about getting a book published and would like to answer questions about the writing process. However, since this particular book is not published, she also plans to listen and learn from Haddonfield residents to see if there are particular areas of interest in and about nanotechnology and policies.
“I think that Haddonfield is a very enlightened community and interesting group of people. I think that the give and take of both what they would want to know about nanotechnology and what they would like to know about writing would be great and intellectually stimulating,” Feitshans said.
Residents are invited to come and get informed about nanotechnology so they can feel comfortable engaging in discourse about it. Discussing nanotechnology and how it is used in daily life and how it affects humans, both positively and negatively, is important so policies can be made.
“People need to know this is happening. People need to feel comfortable engaging in the discourse about it. They need to feel comfortable participating if it matters to them. And all of this will help grow industry because we will come up with sensible rules people will follow,” Feitshans said.
