FCEyN Archive
GLOBAL | OPTICS
School of Sciences, Universidad
de Buenos Aires. (Inset) Quantum Electronics Laboratory and
Image Processing Laboratory.
Optics in Argentina
Claudio Iemmi, Andrea Bragas and Jorge Torga
Like other parts of South America, Argentina has had its share of political and economic
upheavals—which caused the exodus of many promising scientists over the years. But the
nation is now looking to rebuild its scientific community by injecting money into public and
private research and forging links between universities and industry.
I
n South America, one fi nds the
singular coexistence of paradise and
hell. The extreme seems to be the rule
in this subcontinent, from its exuberant
landscapes and natural resources to the
world’s greatest income gap between
rich and poor. After decades of military dictatorships that deepened social
inequalities and violated human rights,
democracies have fi nally been established. Fortunately, in recent years, LatinAmerican governments have begun
working together to achieve a stronger
political and economic bond, reinforcing,
among other things, the common market
shared by some countries of the region
(called the MERCOSUR).
Argentina—the second largest country in South America after Brazil—is no
exception to the Latin-American rule.
Political and economic upheavals characterize the country’s history. However,
even in its darkest days, Argentina has
14 | OPN Optics & Photonics News
BOLIVIA
CHILE
PARAGUAY
BRAZIL
Salta
Tucumán
ARGENTINA
Rosario URUGUAY
Buenos Aires
La Plata
Tandil
Bariloche
Map of Argentina
held its own in terms of education and
cultural development, mainly due to its
free public education policy up to the
university level. Among five Nobel Prizes
that have been awarded to Argentineans,
three were in the sciences.
Argentina has also lost some of its
best scientific minds to other countries.
Because public universities suffered the
same instabilities that the nation did—
including economic crises and political
turbulence—the country has at times become a top exporter of high-quality scientists. An estimated 3,000 Argentinean
scientists have emigrated to the United
States since the 1960s—a number that
represents roughly 25 percent of scientists
working today in Argentina.
Nowadays, there is an important
national effort in place to rebuild a
stronger scientific community by injecting money into the public and private
system at a rate that has not been seen in
many years. Also, policies have been put
forth to promote the return of expatriate
scientists and to create links with citizens
www.osa-opn.org
living abroad who could contribute to
the country’s development. Most of
the country’s research and development
is being conducted at universities and
national labs, the majority of which have
been funded or co-supported by the
CONICET (National Research Council). Approximately 12,000 scientists are
working in Argentina, and many of them
are engaged in collaborations with colleagues overseas.
Even in its darkest days,
Argentina has held its
own in terms of education
and cultural development,
mainly due to its free public
education policy up to the
university level.
La Plata Observatory / CIOP Archives
Optics, past and future
Although the first astronomical observatories in the country date from the 19th
century, research in optics and photophysics starts with the work of the astrophysicist Enrique Gaviola (1900-1989). Since
then, the field has grown considerably.
Today, there are about 300 people working in optics and photophysics. The Red
Argentina de Laboratorios de Óptica y
Fotofísica (www.optica.df.uba.ar) brings
together most of the research groups.
This network aims to generate and promote teaching activities as well as basic
and applied research in optics.
The community is organized into two
divisions, optics and photophysics, which
are each part of the Argentinean Physical
Society (AFA). The members of the community vote their representatives into
office in the Comité Territorial de Óptica
(CTO, Site Optics Committee), which is
formed by three members of each division
and the Argentinean representative to the
International Commission for Optics.
The Committee organizes workshops
and activities at the annual meeting of
the AFA.
Research and development labs devoted to optics and photophysics can be
found all around the country. A list of
the major institutions includes the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas, Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la
Defensa, Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco,
Universidad de Rosario, Universidad de
Tucumán, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Universidad Tecnológica
Nacional and Universidad de Salta. Over
the past six years, the Agencia Nacional
de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica
(Top) The old Astronomical Observatory
founded at the end of the 19th century in La
Plata city. (Bottom) Modern laboratories at
Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas (CIOP).
and CONICET, the leading two funding agencies, have invested more than
5 million pesos (about $1.3 million in
U.S. dollars) in optics and photophysics
basic research projects.
In the past, quantum electronics,
spectroscopy and Fourier optics constituted much of the optics scene; today,
research is more diverse. New photonic
technologies, including fiber lasers, wave
guides, supercontinuum light and soliton
sources, find applications in very different
fields—from biophysics to art restoration,
and from turbid media to the analysis of
contaminants. Basic research is conducted in nano-optics, quantum optics, plasmonics, metamaterials, photonic crystals,
nonlinear optics, microscopy, optical
properties of condensed matter, photochemistry, speckle, spectroscopy, image
processing, diffractive optics, medical
imaging and vision. The optics community also organizes outreach activities, such
as open lab days, training for high school
teachers, and optics activities and kits for
high school students.
Historically, it has been a challenge to
connect industry with research financing
and scientific know-how. However, in the
past few years, institutions have promoted more collaboration between research
groups and local industries. Nevertheless,
this is a burgeoning partnership, since
there are few companies with research
divisions oriented toward new technology development. Some impressive optics
applications have emerged in the realms
of biomedicine, solar energy, environmental analysis, non-destructive testing,
metrology and oil recovery. The optics
community and the CTO have been
actively involved in organizing workshops that are oriented toward developing stronger links with the industry. We
look forward to a bright future in which
our greatest minds in optical science and
technology can engage in international
and industrial collaborations while making Argentina their scientific home. t
Claudio Iemmi ([email protected]) and Andrea
Bragas ([email protected]) are with the physics
department at the Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Jorge Torga ([email protected]) is with the
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.
November 2009 | 15