VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0823/01 1691728
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171728Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1346
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000823 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR STAS DR. NINA FEDEROFF FROM AMBASSADOR TONY WAYNE 
WHA FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY TOM SHANNON - FYI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPL TSPA PREL SENV SCUL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
TRAVELING TO WASHINGTON JULY 7-9, 2008 
 
REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0273 
 
     ¶B. 06 BUENOS AIRES 2580 
 
¶1.  This telegram is sensitive but unclassified, and not for 
Internet distribution. 
 
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Summary 
------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Argentine Minister of Science and Technology Lino 
Baranao (Ba-ran-yow) will visit Washington July 7-9, and he 
hopes to meet with you during that trip.  I believe you would 
find such a meeting useful, as Baranao has indicated on a 
number of occasions his willingness and desire to expand 
Argentina's science and technology cooperation with the U.S. 
That cooperation has traditionally been strong, especially in 
areas such as space and nuclear energy, and Argentina is 
reaching a sufficiently high level of attainment in other 
fields that enhanced cooperation offers the possibility of 
real utility for both sides.  Tom Shannon will be leading a 
delegation to Argentina in July for the first round of newly 
revived bilateral consultations; science and technology 
cooperation will be on the agenda.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
Changing a Scientific Culture 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) My discussions with Baranao, who is Argentina's 
first Minister of Science and Technology, have focused on a 
central theme: Baranao's admiration for U.S. scientific 
culture, and how he hopes to convince Argentina's scientists 
and researchers to think more like their U.S. counterparts. 
Specifically, Baranao wants Argentine scientists and research 
institutions to better capitalize on their ideas.  Baranao's 
principal complaint is that the Argentine scientific 
establishment still finds something discreditable about 
making money.  Baranao's mission, as he put it to me, is to 
make publicly-funded researchers "understand that they have a 
moral obligation to make money" to generate jobs and wealth 
for Argentina. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Baranao is well-placed to effect such a change, as 
he has some manner of control over much of Argentina's 
scientific research.  The Argentine state research 
organization (CONICET), over which Baranao has authority, 
pays at least a portion of the salaries of all 
university-based researchers.  CONICET boasts over 4,500 
full-time researchers and over 5,000 doctoral or 
post-doctoral fellows.  Baranao is therefore THE person with 
whom to meet for an understanding of Argentina's science and 
technology achievements and aspirations. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Next Steps in the Bilateral S&T Agenda 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) WHA Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon will be visiting 
Buenos Aires soon after Baranao's visit to the U.S., and one 
of the items on Shannon's agenda will be how to move forward 
on our bilateral S&T cooperation.  Tom met with Baranao 
during his latest visit to Buenos Aires.  Our S&T cooperation 
has traditionally been strong, especially in the areas of 
space and nuclear technology, but Argentina has real 
potential in other critical fields as well (e.g., 
biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology). 
We recently organized a meeting between Baranao and U.S 
high-tech, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies to discuss 
improving cooperation between the public and private sectors 
here.  A meeting between you and Baranao would therefore be 
an excellent way to begin a deeper engagement that has real 
potential to benefit both countries.  That Baranao is a 
friend of the U.S. and an admirer of our scientific culture 
makes enhanced bilateral S&T cooperation a natural, and I 
hope that your meeting will spur that result. 
 
----------------- 
Bio: Lino Baranao 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Dr. Lino Baranao is Argentina's first Minister of 
Science and Technology.  He was appointed by Argentine 
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in 2007. 
 
He has a PhD in chemical sciences and undertook postgraduate 
studies at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and in the 
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and the M.S. 
Hershey Medical Centre (Penn St. University) in the U.S.  His 
English is excellent. 
 
Baranao held a number of positions in Argentina's state 
research council CONICET.  He was a Principal Investigator of 
that body and Director of its Reproductive Biology and Animal 
Biotechnology Laboratory.  He has also occupied positions in 
the University of Buenos Aires. 
 
Baranao has published over 50 articles in international 
journals, and directed five doctoral theses. 
WAYNE