Editing Richard Smalley (section)

==Advocacy==
Starting in the late 1990s, Smalley advocated for the need for cheap, [[clean energy]], which he described as the number one problem facing humanity in the 21st century. He described what he called "The Terawatt Challenge", the need to develop a new power source capable of increasing "our energy output by a minimum factor of two, the generally agreed-upon number, certainly by the middle of the century, but preferably well before that."<ref name="Terawatt"/><ref name="Norris">{{cite news|last1=Norris|first1=Teryn|first2=Jesse|last2= Jenkins|work=The Huffington Post|title=Want to Save the World? Make Clean Energy Cheap.|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/teryn-norris/want-to-save-the-world-ma_b_173482.html|access-date=July 18, 2016|date=March 10, 2009}}</ref>

He also presented a list entitled "Top Ten Problems of Humanity for Next 50 Years".<ref name="Terawatt"/><ref>"Top Ten Problems of Humanity for Next 50 Years", Professor R. E. Smalley, Energy & NanoTechnology Conference, Rice University, May 3, 2003.</ref> It can be interesting to compare his list, in order of priority, to the [[Ten Threats]] formulated by the U.N.'s [[High Level Threat Panel]] in 2004. Smalley's list, in order of priority, was:
# Energy
# Water
# Food
# Environment
# Poverty
# Terrorism & war
# Disease
# Education
# Democracy
# Population<ref name="Terawatt"/>

Smalley regarded several problems as interlinked: the lack of people entering the fields of science and engineering, the need for an alternative to [[fossil fuels]], and the need to address [[global warming]].<ref name="Terawatt">{{cite journal|last1=Smalley|first1=Richard E.|title=Future Global Energy Prosperity: The Terawatt Challenge|journal=MRS Bulletin|date=2005|volume=30|issue=JUNE|pages=412–417|url=http://cohesion.rice.edu/NaturalSciences/Smalley/emplibrary/120204%20MRS%20Boston.pdf|access-date=July 18, 2016|doi=10.1557/mrs2005.124|doi-access=free}}</ref>  He felt that improved science education was essential, and strove to encourage young students to consider careers in science.  His slogan for this effort was "Be a scientist, save the world."<ref name="Nelson">{{cite journal|last1=Nelson|first1=Donna J.|author-link1=Donna Nelson|last2=Strano|first2=Michael|author-link2=Michael Strano|title=Richard Smalley: Saving the world with nanotechnology|journal=Nature Nanotechnology|date=November 2006|volume=1|issue=2|pages=96–97|doi=10.1038/nnano.2006.113|pmid=18654156|bibcode=2006NatNa...1...96N|s2cid=45575416}}</ref>

Smalley was a leading advocate of the [[National Nanotechnology Initiative]] in 2003.<ref name="Adams">{{Cite news
|pmid = 16373566
|last1=Adams
|first1=W Wade
|last2=Baughman
|first2=Ray H
|publication-date=December 23, 2005
|date=2005
|title=Retrospective: Richard E. Smalley (1943–2005)
|volume=310
|issue=5756
|periodical=[[Science (journal)|Science]]
|pages=1916
|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1122120
|doi = 10.1126/science.1122120
}}</ref>  Suffering from hair loss and weakness as a result of his chemotherapy treatments, Smalley testified before the congressional testimonies, arguing for the potential benefits of nanotechnology in the development of targeted cancer therapies.  Bill 189, the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, was introduced in the Senate on January 16, 2003, by Senator [[Ron Wyden]], passed  the  Senate on November 18, 2003, and at the House of Representatives the next day with a 405–19 vote. President  George  W.  Bush  signed  the  act  into law on December 3, 2003, as Public  Law  108-
153. Smalley was invited to attend.<ref name="Schottel">{{cite web|last1=Schottel|first1=Brandi L.|last2=Karn|first2=Barbara|title=The National Nanotechnology Initiative Approach to Environment, Health, and Safety: A Model for Future Science Investments|url=http://shfg.org/shfg/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Schottel-and-Karn-web-1.pdf|website=Society for History in the Federal Government|date=2010|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210153016/http://shfg.org/shfg/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Schottel-and-Karn-web-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>