Ezio Andreta: "in the future the economy and science will be united"

Mendiburu, Joana

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EU ES FR

EN CA GA

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Partekatu

Could you define the obligation of the "European research area"?

The aim of the "European Research Area" is to bring together the activity and research policies of all countries. This collaboration aims to achieve a greater impact of European research. It is clear that scientific research has a great importance in our daily lives and fortunately politicians have realized it.

However, European structural weaknesses have not yet disappeared and we continue to spend much less money than in the United States and Japan. Only 1.8% of the gross domestic product is allocated to research, while the other two countries spend 2.7% and 3.1% respectively. By joining public and private forces we want to fill that gap and awaken the curiosity for science in society.

What should be the main lines of European research?

European research must respond to problems and needs globally. For example, we should study treatments against large diseases and conduct research on issues such as nanotechnology or computer science that facilitate daily life and ensure its development. On the other hand, due to economic and resource problems, investigations that cannot be carried out by a single people or company should be carried out jointly. For example, aeronautical or spatial research must be channeled.

He said that nanotechnology is a broad and multi-application issue. We have gone from researching everything that was “micro” to investigating what was “nano.” It seems that the curiosity to investigate smallness never ends.

I believe that nanotechnology research will put an end to the work we are doing to investigate "smallness," and the third industrial revolution will end. We will enter a new era that will teach us that research and the economy of peoples go. In fact, the current economy is linked to natural and human resources, but these two factors will replace knowledge. Thanks to nanotechnology we will be able to generate new materials, progressively replacing the natural resources we now need.

Do you think we are on the threshold of these changes?

I wouldn't say we're on the threshold, but I think we'll arrive within 20, 30 or 50 years. At the moment, we are only at the beginning of the aforementioned knowledge. Thanks to computer science and microelectronics we know how to distribute information, but we find it the most difficult: learning to create new materials improving our ability to manipulate atoms.

The interest and reason for all these research is ultimately to solve macro problems through micro and nano level research and achieve a high degree of development for new generations.

So that we return to our day without losing sight of the future. How do you see research at European level?

Before I told you that Europe invests very little money in research, but we have clear that before investing more, Europe has to make a force to rationalize the infrastructures and capacities we have. It is about overcoming the borders and barriers between the peoples of Europe, so that the research of a country becomes an investigation of all Europeans and unify all the works. We are still far from that goal, but the line of work marked by the European Commissioner for Research, Mr. Busquin goes in that line. Our path is difficult and long, because to overcome obstacles it is necessary to combine many different debates and views.

Is research in the United States faster by not having to overcome all these barriers?

The realities of the United States and Europe are completely different. On the one hand, they invest much more money and, in addition, in Europe many stories and languages come together, and although we accept this mixture as wealth, it can become a communication obstacle for research. I am not in favor of all research being done in English, but somehow we have to overcome the obstacles of the language.

In the United States it seems that the gap between science and society is not as big as here. How is this division explained?

In the European Commission we attach special importance to this problem and believe that there is also a lack of communication. It is a great and very fast link between science, knowledge and economy. Among these three groups, information is overlooked. The link between science, knowledge and society is very weak and information is barely transmitted. The two dynamisms are totally different and there is the spoon. We must face this problem as soon as possible before creating fear of science in society.

What does the European Commission do to cover this hole?

It is clear that to overcome this problem we must create a dialogue between society and science. Society sees science as something strange and difficult and our job is to change that idea. It is essential to be able to explain science in a simple way. For example, instead of publishing nanotechnology as a difficult science, it should be viewed as a game. Communication must be done in both directions. Society must understand science, but it must know the needs of society. For this, the media are the most direct way, as they are the way to receive and transmit information.

Although little work of this kind remains, the Commission has made new decisions. Among other things, from now on, we have decided to open the doors of conferences aimed at global experts, unlike what previously happened, journalists and this conference on nanotechnology has been the first. On the other hand, big exhibitions like the SITEF held every year in Toulouse are still rare and we want to fill that gap.

Finally, there is a lot of research to be done worldwide. What are the cooperation agreements between the United States and the European Commission?

The US Government and the European Commission signed an agreement in 1997 to foster cooperation between the two parts of the Atlantic. This agreement empowers the Directorates of the Commission to establish specific rules of collaboration. In December 1999, the Directorate General for Research and Development signed a more detailed agreement for the development of scientific and technological cooperation. The goal is to accelerate work and long-term research by adding knowledge. The conference on nanotechnology that we have organized in Tolosa is part of this collaboration.