2023-08-24 03:30:00
Juan Luis Gardes*
The three Argentine scientific Nobel laureates (2 in medicine and one in chemistry) plus one who deserved it like no other, were children or grandchildren of immigrants, with a majority coming from homes without financial resources. They all studied in public universities. They all began their training following being received from public institutes.
Bernardo Houssay -Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1947- was the son of French immigrants and received his medical degree from the National University of Buenos Aires -UBA-. He trained at the Malbrán Public Institute
Federico Leloir -Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1970- was the grandson of Spaniards. He graduated as a Physician and Biochemist at the UBA. He began his scientific career as a researcher at said public university.
César Milstein -Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1984- was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He graduated from Chemistry at the UBA. He was Director of the Molecular Biology Division of the National Institute of Microbiology
René Favaloro -creator of the Favaloro Foundation- was the son of Italian immigrants. He received his medical degree from the National University of La Plata and was a rural doctor in a town in La Pampa.
Of these four great names in 20th-century Argentine science, all studied at public universities, and except for Leloir, the other three were from low-income immigrant families.
But they all started their scientific career in public universities and continued it in public institutes.
If we take these great Argentines as examples, and if we assume that in their time these universities would have had fees and that there would have been no public scientific institutes, we would be asking ourselves these big questions:
Would Argentina have had three novice scientific prizes?
Would Argentina have had a Favaloro Foundation?
Would Argentina have achieved the development of state-of-the-art technologies such as nuclear or satellite?
On the scientific-technological achievements of the 20th century
Argentina has had achievements in the last century comparable to those of the great world powers. Let’s take a look at two in particular.
With the inauguration of the uranium enrichment plant in Pilcaniyeu (in the province of Río Negro), Argentina managed to close the cycle of the atom, a feat that only a few countries in the world have achieved.
This was the equivalent in the scientific field of what was achieved in the technological field: the materialization of three large nuclear power plants (Atucha I and II and Embalse) and the execution and export of nuclear technology.
All this might not have existed without the National Atomic Energy Commission – CNE miraculously maintained as a State Policy for several decades. And together with the CNEA, various companies and world-class scientific and technological institutions: the Balseiro Institute, INVAP and others, with development in fields as dissimilar as nuclear medicine, solid waste decontamination, pest management and microorganisms of diseases, the pharmaceutical industry, as well as being able to export smaller nuclear reactors for energy production and research.
And in the field of satellite engineering, Argentina has achieved another feat: placing satellites in so-called geostationary orbits at an altitude of 36,000 km. This places us in the select circle of countries that have developed these technologies, which in turn define who will use the mentioned orbits.
And who are they? The USA with the well-known NASA, the European Union, the Chinese, the Russians and… us!
But there might not be nuclear reactors, satellites, radars or other technological niceties without first having trained scientists and technicians with excellent training in institutes, universities and academies from the National State. Who fighting once morest winds and tides, with tenacity, patriotism and great loneliness, promoted these activities for long decades.
Our tribute to the public universities and their research institutes, and to the scientists who fought for science and technology of a national nature, true and anonymous heroes who played and play a key role in the development of this, our great country.
* Civil Engineer – National University of the South.
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