APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110017-5
Science
A. General (S)
Denmark has a moderate capability for scientific and technical research. The overall effort is restricted by limited financial resources, but there are many competent scientists, and the quality of research is good. The volume of research is less than in such neighboring countries as Sweden and the Netherlands, but greater than in Norway. Prior to about 1940 the Danish research effort was slanted toward agriculture, but especially since World War II, with the rapid expansion of the industrial sector, industrial scientific research has increased. Denmark is considerable stronger in basic research than in applied research, however. By concentrating on fundamental research, and by emphasizing those aspects of science that do not require large investments in expensive equipment. Denmark is able to make important contributions to scientific knowledge in several fields, including physics, chemistry, and medicine.
The nature of Danish scientific research precludes a great contribution toward industrial or military capabilities. During recent years several institutes for industrial research have been established with government and private funds. Most industrial organizations are too little to support extensive research and development facilities. Because the population is small, there are few problems of communication between scientific and engineering counterparts. Scientific effort is seldom duplicated, together in groups, or they consult with one another when they pursue research independently at different laboratories.
Denmark does not have a science policy as do more scientifically advanced countries, but both government and private industry are aware of the need for encouraging scientific education and research. Since Denmark has few natural resources and must import large amounts of fuel and raw materials, the government realizes the importance of providing industry with the technology necessary to compete successfully in world markets. Scientific progress has been factored by the high level of literacy and by the strong scientific tradition in universities. The Danes take pride in their past scientific accomplishments, such as the contributions by Hans Oersted, who discovered electromagnetism, and Niels Bohr, a nuclear physicist and the recipient of a Nobel prize in 1922.
Denmark participates actively in international scientific affairs and is a member of numerous international scientific organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and other UN specialized agencies. Denmark takes part in the scientific activities of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), European Space Research Organization (ESRO), European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Denmark is active in the Nordic Council for Applied Research, which was established in 1947 to facilitate Scandinavian cooperation in scientific and technical research and in the utilization of research results. Another inter-Scandinavian organization, the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Applied Physics, (NORDITA), is located in Copenhagen.
Denmark has followed a relatively uniform policy in dealing with Communist nations. For the past 10 years good relations have existed, as noted by exchanges of scientists and students at various research laboratories and universities. Small numbers of students and research scientists from the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Czechoslovakia have visited Denmark for periods of up to 1 and 2 years. At the same time Danish students and researchers have spent some time in the Soviet Union, pursuing their studies and conducting research.
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110017-5
