Central Intelligence Agency

“ Scientists generally have not been invited to participate broadly in the planning process. Spanish scientific personnel criticize industry for its unwillingness to support research. Industry, on the other hand, has a generally low regard for the scientific and technological capabilities of Spanish research and development centers and looks to foreign countries for technological innovations. In actuality, importation of foreign technology has played an important role in stimulating the recent Spanish economic and industrial development. ”

“ Spain has established a nuclear energy program devoted to research, the utilization of nuclear raw materials, and the applications of nuclear energy, particularly for power. The country has been dependent upon some foreign assistance but is increasing its capabilities for industrial participation in a growing nuclear power program. Although Spain has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has no plans to expend any effort on the development of a nuclear weapons program. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 Severe Ochoa, an outstanding biochemist who became a US citizens 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 foundation does not play a direct role in formulation of national science policy; however, it exercises an important influence on the organization and development of industrial research, both by its scientific activities and by measures which it takes to enhance the coordination and financing of technological research activities undertaken by other bodies. ”

“ No research on offensive or defensive biological warfare is known to be carried on in Spain. The country depends on the neighboring NATO member nations to keep it informed on advancements in basic research and in the latest technological and scientific developments. There is only a limited capability for the development of chemical warfare defensive equipment, and there is no program for research in offensive material. Scientists are aware of the nerve agents tabun, sarin, and somac but have not conducted research on them. ”

“ The major portion of the research and development requirements of Spanish industry is met by importing foreign technology through purchase of licenses and by participation of foreign corporations in Spanish firms. ”

“ Two other Spanish organizations that have engaged in electronic-related research are the observatory at Ebro, which has done ionospheric studies, and the Institute of Physics, Madrid, which has done some theoretical work related to semiconductor junctions.
Spain has no domestic computer industry, and it offers a rapidly growing market for US and Western European-produced computing systems. However, the local manufacture of peripheral equipment is being accomplished, and the government is encouraging industry to expand its facilities for further development and manufacture of such equipment. ”

“ Spain is limited by its modest financial resources to a minor role in medical research. While the quality of its senior medical research workers is excellent, the country suffers from a shortage of scientific and professional manpower and facilities for training. The medical schools emphasize teaching more than research. The country, nevertheless, is presently making a strong effort to expand research ”

“ World Health Organization support is given to epidemiological studies of virus disease of public health importance, to study of methods of control and prevention of enteric, respiratory, and other viral diseases, and to provision for training facilities.
Spain does not have a tradition of research in pharmaceuticals. Conducting research is a problem, since Spain lacks experience, maturity, and qualified indigenous personnel in the drug field. The government encourages and fosters research and development by Spanish companies and by the domestic subsidiaries of foreign-owned firms. ”

“ The newly established autonomous universities of Barcelona and Madrid have succeeded in introducing reforms more effectively than the traditional universities. All state universities have faculties of science which are divided into sections; physics, chemistry, mathematics, and natural sciences. Most of the science faculties have been established during the 20th century.
The percentage of students enrolling in scientific studies is much smaller in Spain than in most other Western European countries. ”

“ Very little research is done by industry. The small metallurgical industry is dependent on foreign technology, which is supplied by US and West German firms that have financial interests in Spanish industry. For example, US Steel Corporation has just entered into an agreement to build a large steel plant, and US Steel is to have a 25% interest in the planned mill, which by 1980 is to have an annual capacity of about 6 million tons. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The high-energy research at most of the Spanish universities is approximately 5 years behind research done by physicists in more advanced European countries. Other nuclear physics research is of an applied nature which supports reactor development or contributes to the production and application of radioactive isotopes for industry, medicine, and agriculture. ”

“ No significant research is done on quartermaster, engineer, or transportation equipment. Automotive plants have laboratories and testing facilities, but motor vehicle research is minimal.
Naval research and development are of minor consequence. They consist mainly of exploiting foreign technology to meet local needs. Such work is confined to the construction of frigate or smaller size vessels. The only indigenous research known to be underway on naval weapons is directed to the development of small caliber deck armament. ”

“ There appears to be an overabundant supply of scientific and technical manpower for the limited research and development program. Only about 2% of the scientists and engineers are employed full time in their professional fields. The number of personnel employed in research centers increased only from about 7,700 in 1964 to 8,000 in 1967, an increase of approximately 4%. The salaries of research workers holding government positions are low, but the salary levels of university teaching staffs have improved in recent years. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In 1971 the Leonardo Torres Quevedo Physics Research Center and the French National Office of Aerospace Studies and Investigations signed an agreement for scientific collaboration in integrated circuits and microelectronics. Spain has signed agreements for cooperation in the field of nuclear energy with the United States, Canada, Brazil, Peru, the United Arab Republic, and Portugal. The Nuclear Energy Board (JEN) has concluded agreements for cooperation with nuclear organizations in France, India, Belgium, Italy, Argentina, and Pakistan. ”

“ Approximately 12% of all research efforts devoted to the natural sciences is related to physics, and approximately one-half of this deals with nuclear physics. In the category of high-energy nuclear physics, the subjects studied include inclastic processes and scattering amplitudes, muon capture, hyperon decays, and hadron interactions. ”

“ This center is active in various aspects of nuclear technology involving organic and physical chemistry, including production of uranium, purification of uranium hexafluoride by distillation, separation of stable isotopes by ion exchange techniques, and processing of reactor fuels.
A moderate amount of organic chemical research is done at several universities, including an increasing amount of synthetic work. The strongest activity in organic chemistry is at the CSIC National Center of Organic Chemistry, Madrid. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Ground weapons research is concentrated on shoulder weapons and rocket development rather than on tube artillery weapons. Spain has done research on rocket grenades, a combination hand grenade-mine, a plastic anti-tank mine, and does work on weight reduction of 60-mm, 81-mm, and 120-mm mortars. ”

“ Coordination occurs through the existence of a Technical Advisory Council at each institute or center of the foundation. It is made up of industrialists and qualified technical personnel representing the scientific and industrial organizations interested in the particular activity of the institute or center. The foundation has about 15 research centers, mostly in or near Madrid, and numerous laboratories distributed throughout the country. ”

“ Research there has been concerned with ore enrichment, steelmaking operations, foundry technology, corrosion studies and welding, with particular emphasis upon the development of optimum casting conditions for the elimination of defects in aluminum and copper alloy castings. The only higher educational facility that does significant metallurgical research is the Department of Metal Physics at the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering in San Sebastián. ”

“ Spain has about 200 official research centers which belong to 14 different ministerial departments. Official research centers are generally very small, and only 2 of them employ more then 250 scientists and engineers; 7 employ between 50 and 250; and 47 between 10 and 50. The remaining 145 centers are nearly all dedicated to the humanities and social sciences. Research in industrial companies is carried out in about 300 laboratories of various types, of which only 6 employ a staff of 50 or more scientists and engineers ”

“ Coastal research activities are concerned primarily with coastal and harbor protection and port design, sedimentation, tides, seismic refraction, currents, eddies, shoreline and estuary changes, and fresh water for coastal communities. Research on control of beach erosion is embryonic at best as are investigations on coastal water pollution. ”

“ Thus the amounts paid by Spanish industry for foreign technology are about double the country's total research and development expenditures.
C. Scientific Education, Manpower, and Facilities (S) Scientific education is readily available in Spain, primarily at the 16 government-supported universities, at several higher technical schools, and at a few private universities. During the past 10 years engineering education has changed considerably. Many of the former highly selective special schools (escuclas superiores) for engineering have become part of the universities. ”

“ Hydraulic research is based primarily on model investigations to determine the best designs and locations for wein and lor gates and spillways of dams and to resolve problems concerning sifting and scouring in riverbeds. ”

“ Three other patronatos are concerned with studies in the humanities. The CSIC has a data processing center and publishes periodicals summarizing the research conducted in the various institutes. It maintains an awareness of research done in other countries and maintains extensive contacts with certain US research centers. The CSIC also awards several major prizes annually for research.
A governmental decree of February 1969 was designed to strengthen cooperation between the CSIC and the universities and to provide for the establishment of joint research centers at universities. ”