Dr. Georgios Katalagarianakis is one of the founders and greatest influencers of the EU NanoSafety Cluster (NSC). Dr. Gatalagarianakis retired from his role in the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and the NSC honoured and thanked him for his long and invaluable contribution to the nanotechnology and nanosafety scientific community. The ceremony took place during the NanoSafe 2018 conference, which took place in November 2018 in Grenoble, France.

The ceremony was hosted by The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), organised by the NSC Dissemination Group with the help of the Nanotechnology Industries Association and presented by Prof. Iseult Lynch of the University of Birmingham.

The NSC is an initiative of the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), which sponsors large nanotechnology and nanosafety projects through its European Frameworks.

The EU NanoSafety Cluster maximises the synergies between European-level projects addressing the safety of materials and technologies enabled by the use of nanoforms. The studied aspects include toxicology, ecotoxicology, exposure assessment, mechanisms of interaction, risk assessment and standardisation.

Overall, Europe targets safe and sustainable nanomaterials and nanotechnology innovations. Cluster projects contribute to assuring environmental health and safety (EHS) of this Key Enabling Technology.