Reblogged from Science on the Net

The US Navy has been funding for many years a collaboration with CNR scientific research in the field of marine industry. On July 23, at the Marine Technology Research Institute (INSEAN) in Rome, the Admiral Matthew L. Klunder of the US Navy delegation has visited the Italian Institute in order to further strengthen this scientific collaboration.

To understand the reasons behind such cooperation, we have talked with Emilio Campana, the INSEAN director.

“CNR is in a very unique situation compared to other institutions in the world that deal with scientific research in the marine field because – and this concept must be highlighted – the collaboration between the Navy and INSEAN just relates to the field of scientific research. Which means studying how to build better ships that go faster, consume less and are able to better cope with the difficulties,” explains Campana.

“In other countries, there are two types of institutions dealing with marine research: on the one hand those that are under the complete control of military forces, as it happens in Spain and France, and on the other hand the commercial institutions, such those operating in Netherlands and Germany. Instead, CNR belongs to a third class: since we are a research institution, we do not obey neither to the dictates of the Italian Navy nor to the will of the market.”

“Most of all,” says Campana, “it is the Italian innovation that interests the American Navy. Using a metaphor, the research market is a bit like the meat market, your research must ‘smell fresh’ to attract customers. If the US Navy funds us, is because CNR is working on the forefront of this field.” The Italian research is an excellence in the field of marine industry and there are two main areas where CNR is providing its contribution.

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