Berube, David M. 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born 1953. Education: Seton Hall University, B.A., 1975; Montclair State College, M.A., 1978; New York University, Ph.D., 1990.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Communication, Campus Box 8104, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8104. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Weber State University, Ogden, UT, instructor, 1982-86; Trinity University, San Antonio, TX, instructor, 1986-87; University of Vermont, Burlington, instructor, 1987-90; University of South Carolina, Columbia, professor of speech communication studies, 1990-2007, member of the Center for the Study of the Philosophical and Ethical Implications of Complexity and Scale, 2002-04, associate director of nanoscience and technology studies, 2002-05, coordinator of industrial and governmental relations of nanoscience and technology studies, 2006—; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, professor of communication, 2008—. Former communications director for the International Council on Nanotechnology and freelance journalist for the Burlington Free Press. Former consultant with Ketchum Communications, the Gerson-Lehrman Group, the Soros Foundation, and the Food Products Association/Grocery Manufacturers Association.

MEMBER:

International Council on Nanotechnology, Rhetorical Society of America, Authors League of America, Dramatists Guild, National Communication Association, NanoEthics Group, Society for Risk Analysis, American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Named national debating coach of the year, 1994; recipient of multiple teaching awards and federally funded research grants.

WRITINGS:

(With A.C. Snider and Kristina Pray) Non-Policy Debating, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 1994.

Nano-Hype: The Truth behind the Nanotechnology Buzz, foreword by Mihail C. Roco, Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY), 2006.

Also author of the blog NanoHype: Nanotechnology Implications and Interactions. Contributor to books, including Reading NanoScience, edited by D. Baird, A. Nordmann, and J. Schummer, IOS Press, 2004; Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology II: Maximizing Human Benefit, Report of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Workshop, edited by Mihail C. Roco and William Sims Bainbridge, National Science Foundation, 2004; Nanoethics: Examining the Societal Impact of Nanotechnology, edited by A. Lin, Wiley, 2007; Nanoethics: Emerging Debates, edited by F. Allhoff and A. Lin, Springer, 2008; Nano-Predictions: Big Thinkers on the Smallest Technology, edited by S. Burgess and P. Lin, Wiley, 2008; Nanotechnology: Ethics and Society, edited by D. Bennett, CRC Press, 2008; Nanotechnology Applications: Solutions for Improving Water Quality, edited by M. Diallo, J. Duncan, N. Savage, A. Street, and R. Sustich, William Andrew Publishing, 2008; and Nanomedicine, edited by J. Baker, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews, 2008.

Contributor to periodicals, including Issues in Science and Technology, IEEE Technology and Science, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Nano Today, Nanotechnology Law and Business Review, and Nanotechnology Perception.

SIDELIGHTS:

David M. Berube is an educator in communication studies who specializes in science and risk communication. He has written extensively in a wide range of areas, including the rhetoric of technology, especially newly emergent technologies and nanotechnology. His Nano-Hype: The Truth behind the Nanotechnology Buzz was called "utterly genre-defying: part list, part commercial prospectus, part hagiography, part critique," by Cyrus C.M. Mody in Chemical Heritage. Mody added: "Berube lays out the whole universe of hyped visions, positive and negative, for nanotechnology and gives often colorful portraits of the people and organizations behind those predictions."

Nano-Hype explores the scientific basis of nanotechnology, as well as the politics of nanoscience and the myriad claims for and against its uses. Essentially, nanotechnology is a broad field of science and technology that focuses on using atomic and molecular scale particles to fabricate various devices that have components within the nanometer size range, typically 1 to 100 nanometers in size. (A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter in size.) While this form of molecular engineering on an atomic scale has been hyped in everything from magazine articles and books to movies, television series, and even video games, the author makes his case that much of the talk about nanotechnology is hyperbole fostered by businesspeople, the media, and even scientists, often to justify research funding. The author also examines how environmentalists and globalization opponents also misinform the public about the dangers of nanotechnology in order to further their own agendas.

Jeremy Chunn, writing in Cosmos magazine, noted that the author "has funneled all the major players' opinions into his book to compile an even-handed analysis of a very dynamic and misunderstood industry." In his effort to set the record straight, the author provides an overview of nanotechnology in contemporary society and culture. Evaluating claims and counterclaims concerning nanotechnology, the author appraises various nanotechnology initiatives and programs. He also explores the concerns of the government and the public. American Scientist reviewer George M. Whitesides called Nano-Hype a "sober and scholarly work," adding: "For the most part, it is a useful, evenhanded, detailed history of the development of nanoscience, as viewed through the eyes of a social scientist." Noting that the book "builds a narrative based on an extensive, if not exhaustive, review of the literature," a contributor to the Innovation Watch Web site went on to write that the author "breaks down the cacophony of voices composing the buzz about nano to provide the reader with the tools needed to look realistically at the many claims."

Berube told CA: "Nano-Hype created opportunities for me to write criticism of emerging science and technology in a more extended format. It also availed me of representation, which has opened even more doors and allowed me to continue to write extended works.

"Two writers, Carl Sagan and Stanislaw Lem, convinced me a writer could be critical as well as popular and entertaining. Given my work in science and risk, any author who can cross the great divide between expert and lay reading audiences is well worth his or her weight in nanoparticles.

"My writing process involves an extensive amount of research and collation followed by small writing assignments which are linked, reorganized, and re-linked until the narrative is clear.

"I have learned two major things as a writer. First, writing is a lot of work and people who say ‘I thought about writing a book,’ in most cases haven't done much thinking about it and will probably never write one. Second, ninety-nine percent of writing is re-writing.

"My book Nano-Hype opened a lot of doors and allowed me to investigate an emerging field much like a detective. For an academic, this was quite exciting. I hope Nano-Hype and what follows will allow the public to access science and technology and better understand the world around them. Anything that provides the public with the resources to control their own destiny is worth the life force it takes to get the book onto shelves or the Web."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Scientist, September 1, 2006, George M. Whitesides, "Travelogues from Lilliput," review of Nano-Hype: The Truth behind the Nanotechnology Buzz, p. 456.

Chemical & Engineering News, September 25, 2006, Richard A.L. Jones, "Rational Perspective on Nanotechnology," review of Nano-Hype, pp. 114-115.

Chemical Heritage, winter, 2007, Cyrus C.M. Mody, "Nano Pop," p. 45.

Choice, October, 2006, D. Bantz, review of Nano-Hype, p. 315.

Cosmos, July, 2007, Jeremy Chunn, review of Nano-Hype.

Futurist, May-June, 2006, review of Nano-Hype, p. 58.

Isis, September, 2006, Patrick W. McCray, review of Nano-Hype, p. 586.

Nature, January 12, 2006, Harry Collins, review of Nano-Hype, p. 141.

Physics Today, April, 2007, Mark A. Ratner, review of Nano-Hype, p. 59.

Science Books & Films, May-June, 2006, Michele Bremer, review of Nano-Hype, p. 113.

SciTech Book News, March, 2006, review of Nano-Hype.

ONLINE

Department of Communication, North Carolina State University Web site,http://www.ncsu.edu/chass/communication/ (February 14, 2008), faculty profile of David M. Berube.

Innovation Watch,http://www.innovationwatch.com/ (February 14, 2008), review of Nano-Hype.

Lifeboat Foundation Web site,http://lifeboat.com/ex/ (February 14, 2008), brief biography of David M. Berube.

University of South Carolina, College of Arts & Sciences Web site,http://www.cas.sc.edu/ (February 14, 2008), curriculum vitea and faculty profile of David M. Berube.