Science and technology in Argentina
Encyclopedia
Benefiting from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
's highest literacy rates since shortly after President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history...
made primary education universally available in the 1860s and 1870s, Argentine researchers and professionals at home and abroad continue to enjoy a high standing in their fields. Argentine Bernardo Houssay
Bernardo Houssay
-External links:* * . WhoNamedIt.* . Nobel Foundation....
was the first Latin American awarded with a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in sciences. Formed in a National University
National University
National University may refer to:*National University *National University *National Universities in Argentina*National University of Ireland*Australian National UniversitySee also:*National Universities...
, Houssay went on to establish Argentina's National Research Council, a centerpiece in Argentine scientific and technological development, fifty years on. Many other Argentines have contributed to scientific development around the world, though sometimes having to emigrate
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
to do so. Probably for that, the Argentine education is referred as the Latin American docta (in Spanish: La docta Latinoamericana), which originates from the Latin docta (learned).
This country, with its high level of multiculturalism and ample natural resources, has seen its share of instability and lost many of its most talented professionals over the years. Yet it continues its commitment to cultivate the most educated work force possible and, recently recovering from years of malaise, education and scientific training is still a work in progress - as in other Latin American countries and, indeed, the world.
Eminences in their fields
Despite its modest budget and numerous setbacks, academics and the sciences in Argentina have enjoyed an international respect since the turn of the 1900s, when Dr. Luis AgoteLuis Agote
Luis Agote was an Argentine physician and researcher. He was one of the first to perform a non-direct blood transfusion using sodium citrate as an anticoagulant...
devised the first safe and effective means of blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
as well as René Favaloro
René Favaloro
Dr. René Gerónimo Favaloro was an Argentine cardiac surgeon who created the technique for coronary bypass surgery....
, who was a pioneer in the improvement of the bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
. Argentina has three Nobel Prize winners in the sciences: Bernardo Houssay
Bernardo Houssay
-External links:* * . WhoNamedIt.* . Nobel Foundation....
in Physiology or Medicine in 1947, Luis Federico Leloir
Luis Federico Leloir
Luis Federico Leloir was an Argentine doctor and biochemist who received the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was the first Spanish-speaking scientist to ever receive the award...
in Chemistry in 1970, and César Milstein
César Milstein
César Milstein FRS was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research. Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels K. Jerne and Georges Köhler.-Biography:...
in Physiology or Medicine in 1984. Argentine scientists are still on the cutting edge in fields such as nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
s, molecular biology, oncology, ecology, and cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
, where Dr. Domingo Liotta
Domingo Liotta
Domingo Santo Liotta, MD is a pioneer of heart surgery, creator of multiple cardiac prostheses including the first total artificial heart used in a human being.-Early life:...
created the first artificial heart in 1969, revolutionizing the heart transplant field.
They have also contributed to bioscience
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
in efforts like the Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
, where Argentine scientists have successfully mapped the genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
of a living being, a world first. Argentina has its own satellite programme, nuclear power station designs (4th generation) and public nuclear energy company INVAP
INVAP
INVAP S.E. is an Argentine high-technology company dedicated to the design, integration, construction and delivery of high complexity equipment, plants and devices.-Background:...
, which provides several countries with nuclear reactors.
Other projects are focusing on IT, nanotechnology, biotechnology, helicopters, farming machinery and military defensive systems. Space research has also become increasingly active in Argentina. Established in 1991, the CONAE has since launched two satellites successfully and, in June 2009, secured an agreement with the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
on for the installation of a 35-m diameter antenna and other mission support facilities at the Pierre Auger Observatory
Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is an international cosmic ray observatory designed to detect ultra-high-energy cosmic rays: single sub-atomic particles with energies beyond 1020 eV...
. The facility will contribute to numerous ESA space probes, as well as CONAE's own, domestic research projects. Chosen from 20 potential sites and one of only three such ESA installations in the world, the new antenna will create a triangulation which will allow the ESA to ensure mission coverage around the clock.
Social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
have a particularly strong tradition in Argentina. Home to 122 think tanks specializing in public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
issues, Argentina ranks fifth in the number of these institutions worldwide.
In April of 2009, Dr. Sandra Díaz, researcher from the Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal (IMBIV - NU of C), was elected as a foreign associate member to the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.) in recognition of her outstanding work on climate change, being the first Hispanic woman to achieve this honor. Moreover, Dr. Diaz won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Currently there are further outstanding Argentine researchers in the mentioned institution as Alberto Carlos Frasch (NU of SAM), Armando Parodi (NU of SAM - Leloir Institute
Leloir Institute
The Leloir Institute is a non-profit research center in Buenos Aires specializing in biotechnology, including biochemistry, cellular biology, molecular biology, and related activities.-Overview:...
), and Francisco de la Cruz (Balseiro Institute - NU of Cu).
Among the public institutions devoted to research and development in Argentina are:
- CITEFACITEFAThe Institute of Scientific and Technological Research of the Armed Forces , is an Argentine federal agency in charge of the research, development and homologation of armament....
: Armed ForcesMilitary of ArgentinaThe Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, in Spanish Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina, are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief and a civilian Minister of Defense...
Scientific and Technical Research Institute - CNEANational Atomic Energy CommissionThe National Atomic Energy Commission is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development.The agency was created on May 31, 1950 with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the country.CNEA's facilities include the...
: National Atomic EnergyNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
Commission - CONAEComisión Nacional de Actividades EspacialesComisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales is the civilian agency of the government of Argentina in charge of the national space program.- History :...
: National Space Activities Commission - CONICET: the National Research Council
- INTAInstituto Nacional de Tecnología AgropecuariaThe National Agricultural Technology Institute , commonly known as INTA, is an Argentine federal agency in charge of the generation, adaptation and diffusion of technologies, knowledge and learning procedures for the agriculture, forest and agro-industrial activities within an ecologically clean...
: National Agricultural Technology Institute - INTIInstituto Nacional de Tecnología IndustrialThe National Industrial Technology Institute , commonly known as INTI, is an Argentine federal agency in charge of the developing of Industrial technology.It was created in 1957.-See also:*INTA, National agricultural technology institute of Argentina...
: National Industrial Technology Institute - INVAPINVAPINVAP S.E. is an Argentine high-technology company dedicated to the design, integration, construction and delivery of high complexity equipment, plants and devices.-Background:...
: Argentine high-technology research & development company
A well-educated work force
See also
- Education in ArgentinaEducation in ArgentinaEducation in Argentina is a responsibility shared by the national government, the provinces and federal district and private institutions, though basic guidelines have historically been set by the Ministry of Education...
- List of universities in Argentina
- Argentine defense industryArgentine defense industryThe Argentine defense industry has developed over the years, different programs to improve the armed forces of Argentina. The first major steps to establish a defense industry were made during the Second World War and they received a boost during the 1970s after the United States imposed an arms...
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