History of science and technology in Argentina

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File:Bernado_Houssay.JPG was the first Latin American to obtain a scientific Nobel, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1947 for his work on the influence of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland on the distribution of glucose in the body, which is important for development of diabetes.{{cite web |url=http://www.encuentro.gov.ar/Content.aspx?Id=968 |title=Bernardo Houssay |website=Canal Encuentro |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531181550/http://www.encuentro.gov.ar/Content.aspx?Id=968 |archive-date=31 May 2011}}{{cite journal |title=El primer latinoamericano ganador del premio Nobel de Medicina y Fisiología |journal=Revista Cubana de Salud Pública |date=June 1996 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=19–20 |url=http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0864-34661996000100010 }}]]

File:Leloir festejando.jpg (left) celebrating with his teammates the day he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1970 for his discovery of nucleotide saccharides and their role in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates]]

File:CNEA.JPG. Established in 1950, it was the first in the world outside the United States or USSR. It had created a research reactor in 1957.]]

The history of science and technology in Argentina covers scientific policies and discoveries made in the country.

Argentina has a long tradition in scientific research that began with the colonial universities of the Spanish Golden Age and the Jesuit scientists of the 16th and 17th centuries.{{cite book|first1=David C.|last1=Lindberg|first2=Ronald Leslie|last2=Numbers|authorlink1=David C. Lindberg|authorlink2=Ronald Numbers|title=God and nature. Historical essays on the encounter between Christianity and science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=beRh2rLUsMIC |year=1986 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=beRh2rLUsMIC&pg=PA154 154]|publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, California|isbn=0-520-05538-1}} Then came the astronomers and naturalists of the 19th century, such as Florentino Ameghino. With the appearance of the national universities of Córdoba (founded in 1613 and nationalized in 1854), Buenos Aires (1821), Littoral (1889), La Plata (1897) and Tucumán (1914), efforts were made to systematize and formalize scientific study.

During the post-war period, there was a transformation of the national scientific system with the establishment of CONICET, a body created on the basis of the French CNRS and charged with financing the human resources necessary for scientific research (scholarship holders and researchers). Specific organizations were also created for research in agricultural technology (INTA), industrial (INTI), nuclear (CNEA), defense (CITIDEF) and space (CNIE, now CONAE ). At the provincial level, the Scientific Research Commission (CIC) of the province of Buenos Aires was created.{{cite web |url=https://www.cic.gba.gob.ar/que-es-la-cic/ |title=¿Qué es la CIC? |access-date=24 June 2020 |website=CIC}} Argentina has a long tradition of biomedical research and has earned three Nobel Prizes: Bernardo Houssay (1947, the first in Latin America), Luis Federico Leloir (1970), and César Milstein (1984).

This period of development of the scientific system ended abruptly in 1966 with an episode known as the Noche de los Bastones Largos that caused a brain drain to developed countries. The political and ideological persecution continued until the end of the last military dictatorship in 1983.

With the return of democracy, the institutional situation in science and technology organizations was normalized, again passing into civilian hands, but the sector's budget was limited. The government of Carlos Menem (1989–1999) produced new changes in the Argentine scientific system with the creation of the ANPCyT (1997), which absorbed the function of providing subsidies and credits that CONICET had previously covered. During this period, vacancies in the scientific system were almost nil, generating a new brain drain, which continued during the De la Rúa government (1999–2001) when the economic crisis came into play.{{cite news |title=Argentina lidera la fuga de cerebros a Estados Unidos |date=28 April 2005 |url=https://www.clarin.com/ediciones-anteriores/argentina-lidera-fuga-cerebros-unidos_0_SkUxLEKy0te.html |newspaper=Clarín |language=Spanish |access-date=29 October 2018}}

The governments of Néstor Kirchner (2003–2007) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007–2015) began to call for researchers and fellows at CONICET and the repatriation of researchers through the Raíces Program.{{Cite web |url=http://tiempo.infonews.com/notas/desde-ano-2004-regresa-cientifico-argentino-cada-tres-dias |title=Desde el año 2004 regresa un científico argentino cada tres días |accessdate=2014-06-06 |date=2011-09-29 |language=es |website=Tiempo Argentino}} In 2007, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MinCyT) was created to plan and coordinate the area.{{cite web|url=https://www.canal-ar.com.ar/Nota.asp?Id=5143 |title=Argentina tendrá un Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva|access-date=3 September 2020 |website=CanalAR}} Until then, there had only been the Secretary of Science and Technology which had a subordinate status. The area's budget suffered significant cuts during the following government of Mauricio Macri (2015–2019){{cite news|title=Científicos marcharon contra el recorte presupuestario|url=https://www.perfil.com/noticias/ciencia/cientificos-marcharon-contra-el-recorte-presupuestario.phtml|date=2 November 2018|language=Spanish |access-date=2 November 2018|website=Perfil}} who culminated his action in science and technology with the abolition of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation and its demotion to the secretariat level. Access to CONICET for young researchers was again reduced, leading to a new brain drain. During Alberto Fernández's first year (2019–), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation was re-created, although it continues to suffer from significant budget deficits.

The main achievements during the 21st century have been in biotechnology, with the development of new transgenic varieties;{{cite web |title=Drought-resistant Argentine soy raises hopes, concerns |url=https://phys.org/news/2012-04-drought-resistant-argentine-soy.html |last=Samuel |first=Liliana |date=April 27, 2012 |website=Phys.org |access-date=30 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://inta.gob.ar/noticias/inta-dispone-de-nuevas-variedades-de-tomate-resistentes-y-sabrosas|title=INTA dispone de nuevas variedades de tomate, resistentes y sabrosas |website=Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria|language=Spanish |access-date=30 October 2018}} nuclear technology, where the country has exported reactors to different countries through the state company INVAP;{{Cite web |url=http://www.invap.com.ar/es/sala-de-prensa/multimedia-kit-de-prensa/593-reactor-opal-exportado-a-australia.html |title=Reactor Opal exportado a Australia |website=INVAP |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906060022/http://www.invap.com.ar/es/sala-de-prensa/multimedia-kit-de-prensa/593-reactor-opal-exportado-a-australia.html |archive-date=2014-09-06}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.invap.com.ar/es/area-nuclear-de-invap/proyectos/reactor-etrr-2-de-egipto.html |title=Reactor ETRR-2 de Egipto |website=INVAP |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208234810/http://www.invap.com.ar/es/area-nuclear-de-invap/proyectos/reactor-etrr-2-de-egipto.html |archive-date=2010-12-08}}{{cite web |url=https://cyt-ar.com.ar/cyt-ar/index.php/CAREM |title=Reactor nuclear CAREM |access-date=3 September 2020 |website=La enciclopedia de ciencias y tecnologías en Argentina}} and satellite technology with the design and production of various satellites: SAC-D / Aquarius (2011),{{Cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aquarius/news/aquarius20110610.html |title=NASA's 'Age of Aquarius' Dawns With California Launch |accessdate=2011-06-10 |website=NASA GSFC |archive-date=12 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612091941/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aquarius/news/aquarius20110610.html |url-status=dead }} Arsat-1 (2014),{{cite news |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2014/10/17/ciencia/1413516812_333879.html |title=Argentina lanza el primer satélite de telecomunicaciones de la región |last=Rebossio |first=Alejandro |date=17 October 2014 |newspaper=El País |language=es}} SAOCOM 1-A (2018) and 1B (2020). Promotion programs have also been developed in areas considered strategic, such as informatics, nanotechnology and biotechnology.{{cite web |url=http://www.conicet.gov.ar/diarios/2006/diciembre/061.php |title=Conicet en los medios: Un buen año nacional |date=December 2006 |website=CONICET |access-date=23 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111010532/http://www.conicet.gov.ar/diarios/2006/diciembre/061.php |archive-date=11 November 2007}}