ICON was founded in 2004 as an extension of the US National Science Foundation Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Recognizing that the issues of nanotechnology's risks and benefits have the ability to provoke considerable social controversy, CBEN's early industrial sponsors encouraged the creation of ICON as a way of engaging in a broader dialogue with groups likely to be affected by or active in the debate.
After a start-up phase, ICON completed its first project in August 2005 with the web publication of a database on nanotechnology environmental, health and safety research (EHS).
[1] Initially compiled by a team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Chemical Industry Consultative Board on Advancing Nanotechnology, the database was turned over to ICON in spring 2005 to maintain and make web accessible.
Further refinements have been made to the database over the years, including weekly updates, better indexing and search functionalities, and a Virtual Journal of Nanotechnology Environment, Health and Safety interface.