Introduction

The big challenge of the small

Welcome to CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, a newly established center in permanent pursuit of scientific excellence, with the mission and commitment to contributing to the competitive growth of the Basque Country, through the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is currently accepted as one of the driving forces behind economic growth in the 21st century, apart from being one of the key factors of a sustainability that cannot fail to mark the future development of humanity. The road ahead is long and uphill: one needs to understand new phenomena and master the manipulation of matter on a nanometer scale; one also needs to be capable of designing and creating materials, devices, and systems through controlling matter at that scale.

Researching the small and extracting technological performance that can be converted into new products and more efficient processes, whilst at the same time being sustainable, is a huge challenge. This challenge is currently being taken on by the most advanced countries in the world and by those that expect to occupy a prominent place in the future. There is no doubt that this represents a big challenge for a small country, the Basque Country, which is currently aiming at becoming the innovation reference in Europe.

The creation of nanoGUNE, within the framework of the Basque Government’s Plan for Science, Technology, and Innovation 2010 and the nanoBASQUE Strategy promoted by the Basque Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, is the first necessary step to promote a solid knowledge community with a vocation to transfer the results of research to an industrial sector that needs to become increasingly more competitive in the new scenario of globalization. Without recurring to false optimism, we are convinced that the future of nano is a promising one, and we wholeheartedly back the Basque Government’s strategic commitment to this field with the creation of nanoGUNE.

We will compete and collaborate with many other research laboratories around the world until we find the space that will allow us to offer something different. When we do so, we will be contributing with our small size to creating the necessary conditions for the humanity to benefit from a wide range of nanotechnologies.

Jose Maria Pitarke
Director of nanoGUNE