The Argentine Nanotechnology Foundation (FAN) will open subsidiaries for the development of research and productive applications of these technologies in the Rio Negro city of Bariloche, in La Rioja and a third to be defined between the provinces of Catamarca and Santiago del Estero, as announced by the Minister of Science, Daniel Filmus, during his participation in the seventh edition of Nanomercosur, which began today at the Cultural Center of Science.
The FAN is the mechanism through which the national State promotes the development of nanotechnologies throughout the country and incubates companies that invest in this field.
Researchers, entrepreneurs and businessmen in the field of nanotechnology in the Mercosur countries meet from this Wednesday until Friday at the C3 Cultural Center of Science in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo to participate in the seventh edition of Nanomercosur.
#Now the minister @FilmusDaniel toured the stands present in #Nanomercosur beside @VeraAlejandraA2, @lauratoledoar, @AnaFranchi3 Y @pcangelome in the 7th edition of the largest nanotechnology event in the region. pic.twitter.com/CvOtiUrc56
– Argentine Nanotechnology Foundation (@nano_fan) November 16, 2022
Within the framework of this regional meeting, Filmus announced that “the national State decided to support the FAN in the creation of branches throughout the country, the closest to inaugurate is the one in Bariloche where we are going to work in synergy with the critical mass that it already exists there through the research centers of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), INVAP and technological SMEs”.
“The one that will come later is the subsidiary of La Rioja, where we have been working a lot with the provincial government that is very interested in promoting nanotechnologies in the productive structure of the province; and we are analyzing in which province of northern Argentina the third subsidiary is going to be installed, something that has not yet been decided because there are provinces such as Santiago del Estero or Catamarca that are showing a lot of interest”, he added.
The official pointed out that “the objective is to build a truly federal policy on nanotechnologies, because if we look at a map today, 85% of the investments in this field are made in the center of the country; For this reason, hand in hand with these subsidiaries, the Ministry is also working on a federal variant of the Raíces program, to encourage the establishment of groups of researchers in different provinces in cooperation with local governments”.
The Panel on Public Policies for Innovation in #Nanomercosur. moderates @lauratoledoarvice president of the FAN and participate @CinCHernandez of @Economia_Ar; Nadia Villar de @ANMATsalud; Luciana Landim (MCTI Brazil) and Guillermo Vispo from @INPI_Argentina pic.twitter.com/88dV1r5Tm6
– Argentine Nanotechnology Foundation (@nano_fan) November 16, 2022
Filmus recalled that “when I was Minister of Education, Science and Technology between 2005 and 2007 I had to discuss with the then Minister of Economy, Roberto Lavagna, three very important laws, the Software Law, the Biotechnology Law and a third for nanotechnology. Roberto, at that time, thought that this was a very incipient field for a law, but this Foundation was built so that the State could have a promoting role, and that is why at that time this Foundation was under the orbit of the Ministry of Economy”.
“Already with Kulfas in the Ministry of Production we were able to make the Biotechnology Law about Biotechnology and Nanotechnology, and the Knowledge Economy Law came and now we have in the Senate the bill to give tax incentives to the private sector that invests in nanotechnology; That is why this is an important moment to highlight that decision made 15 years ago to create this foundation, because setting priorities in the long term is what facilitates the development of science, which is impossible when there are pendular policies, ”he added.
“This is a key moment to underline the importance that the State should give to the development of public policies in Science and Technology, because these developments are the ones that consolidate any country project that wants to be more than an exporter of raw materials”, he completed. Filmus.
The president of the Conicet, Ana Franchi, emphasized that “thanks to nanotechnology we had efficient chinstraps during the pandemic, and thanks to the nanotechnology applied to vaccines, we can now see our full faces again.”
“Since 2000, the development of the nanotechnology sector has been exponential in Argentina, reaching various fields such as Health, Food, or the agricultural industry; All that we see today are the fruits of a bet that was made 15 years ago with the creation of the FAN and it is a ratification of the possibility that scientific development gives us to think of ourselves as an autonomous country”, he concluded.
The main activity of the event will be a series of discussion tables on key issues in which nanotechnology can make substantial contributions, such as Public Policies for innovation; the Environment and Sustainability Panel; the Energy Panel; the Health Panel; and the Agriculture and Food Panel.
In turn, Nanomercosur 2022 will have other activities, among which we can mention a poster session in which researchers, entrepreneurs and companies can exhibit their latest works; a nanotechnology workshop for companies, a scientific performance by Galo Soler Illía and Paula Angelomé, and networking activities to promote bonding among the participants.
