APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090015-0
Science
A. General (C)
Spain achieved prominence in science during the Renaissance and has shown some capability for research during the present century, but the country is now engaged in only a limited program of research and development. It has fallen far behind most of its European neighbors in the extent of its scientific and technological work and devotes less than 0.3% of its gross national product to research and development compared with about 1.5% of gross national product in France and West Germany. Under Generalissimo Francisco Franco as Chief of State, Spain has made impressive economic progress, particularly during the past 10 years and has become much more industrialized and less dependent on agriculture than formerly. In order to continue this progress, the country will be forces to depend increasingly on improved higher education and expanded scientific research and development. Currently, it is largely dependent on foreign technology for technical innovation in its industrial plants.
Several factors have impeded research, including the lack of a broad industrial base (until recently), insufficient funds for research, and a lack of equipment and trained personnel. Spain has produced a few good scientists; the most outstanding was Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1906 in recognition of his researches in neuroanatomy. The isolation of Spain since the Civil War (1936-1939) has had a harmful effect on science. Many scientists left the country during the hostilities and did not return. One of these is Professor Severo Ochoa, an outstanding biochemist who became a US citizen and subsequently a Nobel Prize winner. A handicap to Spanish scientific research is that the great majority of research centers are too small to be effective. The universities are generally conducted in a few government centers. Industrial research is increasing but it still inadequate.
The Spanish Government has shown a growing awareness of the importance of scientific research and development in furthering economic growth and has set up various committees to promote and coordinate research activities. One objective of the Development Plans has been to create an atmosphere favorable to technical innovation and to the improvement of the country's competitive position in world markets. To reach this goal, research and development efforts are to be concentrated in applied areas, especially agriculture, mining, and nuclear energy, but without neglecting basic research. A considerable portion of the government's research support in recent years has been for the nuclear program, which is directed toward nuclear power production.
Fundamental research in Spain presents a very fragmented picture. Since fundamental research cannot be expected to show a financial profit, it has been given some support primarily to improve the prestige of scientific groups which have proven ability based on past contributions. Biological research is carried out almost exclusively in the research centers of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and in the university faculties of science, medicine, and pharmacy. Chemistry research is generally the sector which has been pursued the most avidly. Research in physics and mathematics is limited in scope. The physics of high-energy and low-energy nuclear particles is probably the most developed area. One important joint scientific group has been formed recently by the Autonomous University of Madrid and the CSIC to specialize in solid-state physics and high-energy theoretical physics.
US observers of Spanish scientific centers have stated that Spain will need to invest more heavily in scientific and technological research if it is to compete on an international economic level, an assessment agreed to by the Spanish Government. Following the recent emphasis on education as the government's riding priority, the country intends to emphasize scientific and technological development during the next decade. Scientists and the country as a whole are highly interested in foreign scientific cooperation, especially with the United States. Also, Spain realizes that it must have closer association with the industrially more advanced countries of the European Common Market. A German-Spanish scientific and
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090015-0
