Page:NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 17; ITALY; SCIENCE CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080002-5.pdf/13

 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080002-5

felt by the highly trained and highly competent scientists who tend to migrate.

Although the government has attempted to placate the concerns of the scientific sector, the turbulent political situation contributes little to ease the troubled atmosphere. Conditions in university research have improved during the past 10 years as a result of continuing support of research programs by the CNR and the increased research and development budget of the Ministry of Public Instruction. However, there are still many research workers in the less-favored classical disciplines who work at low salaries with inadequate facilities and equipment. A breakdown of the number of scientific and technical personnel engaged in research activities in the public sector and in the private sector in 1972 is given in Figure 3. Also given are the totals for 1969 and 1971. The general attitude of the government and the public towards scientists is favorable. Scientists enjoy high social and professional prestige and, especially in industry, are reasonably well rewarded financially. As a result, many competent young researchers are attracted to industry. University positions, on the other hand, are poorly paid except at the high levels. University professors usually have outside positions that take time from university research. Efforts are being made to raise the levels of faculty salaries.

Italian research facilities vary considerably in quality. Many have modern equipment, but some are still using outmoded instruments which are inadequate to perform high quality research. The modern nuclear research facility at Ispra is an example of the high capital investment made by the Italians in the physical plant. However, the facility at Ispra lacked the manpower and operational funds to carry out effective programs and chose to turn the facility over to Euratom. Except for the University of Rome, most of the research institutes and laboratories of educational institutions lack up-to-date equipment and apparatus. The government has been aware of these shortcomings and provided in the 1969 budget the sum of $100 million for the purchase of scientific instruments and apparatus not available in Italy. The CNR has spent large sums from its budget to establish new centers in space research, atmospheric physics, and meteorology in Rome; desalination plants in Bari; and genetics and biophysics centers in Naples. Naples has the largest CNR center, the International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics. In addition, the Zoological Station in Naples is considered one of Europe's foremost centers for marine biology.

D. Major research fields

1. Air, ground, and naval weapons (S)

The Italian weapon research and development capability is limited presently to fighter aircraft, short-range tactical and antiship missiles, combat vehicles, and specialized subfields of research on ground

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080002-5