Palo Alto, CA -- The City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce are pleased to present an Economic Forum focusing on the emerging field of nanotechnology. The Forum will take place on Thursday, June 26 from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. at the Palo Alto Civic Center located at 250 Hamilton Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

Recently, nanotechnology has gained a great deal of media coverage. Many are wondering what nanotechnology really means and its implications for the future. Will it really be the next big thing?

Michele Lew, District Director for California State Assemblymember Joe Simitian, will moderate a distinguished panel of experts on this topic. Speakers include Brian Sefton, CEO and Managing Director at NCNano: The Northern California Nanotechnology Initiative, Stephen Empedocles, Co-founder and Director of Business Development at Palo Alto-based Nanosys Inc., and Jennifer Fonstad, Managing Director of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Panelists will address the applications and implications of nanotechnology and its potential impacts on the local economy. An informal question and answer session will follow the panel discussion.

This Forum is part of a continuing series sponsored by the City of Palo Alto Economic Development Division of the City Manager's Office and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce. Past Forums have included conversations with experts from the local retail market, commercial real estate and development firms, local venture capital firms, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy.

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