Title: Convergence-Enabler Nanotechnology – Past, Present and Future

Biography: Dr Steffi Friedrichs has been a leading expert, policy advisor and business representative for emerging technological innovation for nearly 20 years. She is currently the Founder and Director of AcumenIST, an internationally active consultancy that drives the advancement of science- and technology-based innovations through proactive initiatives in the public and private sector. Before joining AcumenIST, Steffi worked for the OECD, where she developed its definition, indicators and impact assessment of biotechnology and nanotechnology, and led two international workshops on genome editing. Steffi has a strong track record in the establishment, development and representation of technology-based companies; she was the Founder and General Director of the Nanotechnology Industry Association (NIA) group, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Micro- & Nanotechnology Community (CMNC), Director of the Master’s Program in Micro- and Nanotechnology at the University of Cambridge, and Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry and Solid State Chemistry at the University of Oxford.