Evolution of the social structure of nanotechnology

Abstract

New disciplines require the presence of a social infrastructure for the research to become institutionalized. I study the change of structural arrangements to determine the social development of nanotechnology as an emerging discipline. In order to understand structural properties of social infrastructure, I have conducted the empirical study of the time evolution of co-authorship network of scientists in nanotechnology. In particular I have examined static topological properties of networks and underlying dynamical processes leading to particular topologies.