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nanotimes Content | Editor‘s Letter Content Dear Readers,

CNT-based ICs Manufactured on Plastic Substrates (70)

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the political, technological, and economic change over the last 20 years does not only result in a reallocation of political power balances. Former leading industrial nations will primarily be displaced by new aspiring countries.

Now, China passed Japan in 2010 to become the world‘s second-largest economy after the U.S., and is expected to spend $153.7 billion on R&D in 2011 (1.4% of GDP). That isn‘t half of respec- tive U.S. expenses ($405 billion = 2.7% of GDP), but nonetheless the trend is clear. China‘s R&D investments are growing at a rate that comes close to the annual economic growth.

Europe with $270 billion (2010) is still ahead of China but has to bundle up in the forthcoming 5 to 10 years. While the European countries are ge- nerally in the saving money mode and are mainly facing red colours in their balance sheets, China has positive balanced bank accounts. In Europe, Germany ranks first with estimated expenditures on R&D totalling $69.5 billion (2.3% of GDP) in 2011, followed by France with $42.2 billion (1.9% of GDP) and U.K. with $38.4 billion (1.7% of GDP)*.

Therefore, in our nanotimes we will stronger focus on Asian research results – mainly from China and India – besides the coverage of Ame- rican and European technological advancements.

11-01 :: December 2010 / January 2011

Editor‘s Letter