---
kind: "section"
citation: "15 U.S.C. § 7508"
title: "15"
title_heading: "Commerce and Trade"
number: "7508"
heading: "Additional centers"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/15/7508"
units:
  - "Chapter 101 — Nanotechnology Research and Development"
---

# §7508. Additional centers

- (a) **American Nanotechnology Preparedness Center—** The [Program](/usc/15/7509.md?p=3) shall provide for the establishment, on a merit-reviewed and competitive basis, of an American [Nanotechnology](/usc/15/7509.md?p=2) Preparedness Center which shall—
  - (1) conduct, coordinate, collect, and disseminate studies on the societal, ethical, environmental, educational, legal, and workforce implications of [nanotechnology](/usc/15/7509.md?p=2); and
  - (2) identify anticipated issues related to the responsible research, development, and application of [nanotechnology](/usc/15/7509.md?p=2), as well as provide recommendations for preventing or addressing such issues.
- (b) **Center for nanomaterials manufacturing—** The [Program](/usc/15/7509.md?p=3) shall provide for the establishment, on a merit reviewed and competitive basis, of a center to—
  - (1) encourage, conduct, coordinate, commission, collect, and disseminate research on new manufacturing technologies for materials, [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d), and systems with new combinations of characteristics, such as, but not limited to, strength, toughness, density, conductivity, flame resistance, and membrane separation characteristics; and
  - (2) develop mechanisms to transfer such manufacturing technologies to United States industries.
- (c) **Reports—** The [Council](/usc/15/7509.md?p=4), through the Director of the National [Nanotechnology](/usc/15/7509.md?p=2) Coordination Office, shall submit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Science—
  - (1) within 6 months after December 3, 2003, a report identifying which agency shall be the lead agency and which other agencies, if any, will be responsible for establishing the Centers described in this section; and
  - (2) within 18 months after December 3, 2003, a report describing how the Centers described in this section have been established.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 108–153, § 9, Dec. 3, 2003, 117 Stat. 1930.)

## Notes

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Change of Name

Committee on Science of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Science and Technology of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007. Committee on Science and Technology of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Jan. 5, 2011.