Posted: June 25, 2008

(Nanowerk News) On June 18, 2008 the delegation of the Helmholtz Association, Germany’s largest scientific research organization, visited the office of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RCNT).

Yurgen Mlunek, President of the Helmholtz Association together with Leonid Melamed, RCNT’s Director General, Alexander Losyukov, RCNT’s Deputy Director General and other participants of the meeting discussed possible ways of cooperation in the field of nanotechnologies.

The Helmholtz Association performs cutting-edge research which combines fundamental studies with innovational application of their results. One of the active areas of research is new “smart” materials produced on the basis of the nanostructured systems with size-dependent properties and functions. Many researches are being carried out in cooperation with the Russian scientists.

"One of the priorities of our possible cooperation can be commercialization of the international innovations developed with the participation of the Russian and German scientists. We are also ready to provide support in mutual educational programs and in sharing scientific and business experience,"—claimed Leonid Melamed.

"I am impressed of the Russian Government Initiative and RCNT activity in developing nanotechnologies in Russia for the benefit of science, economics and society of the country,"—said Yurgen Mlunek in the end of the discussion.

As a result of the meeting it was agreed to create a working group on cooperation of the RCNT and Helmholtz Association in the field of nanotechnologies.

The Helmholtz Association is a community of 15 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centres. These centres have been commissioned with pursuing long-term research goals on behalf of the state and society. The Association strives to gain insights and knowledge so that it can help to preserve and improve the foundations of human life. It does this by identifying and working on the grand challenges faced by society, science and industry. Helmholtz Centres perform top-class research in strategic programmes in six core fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Transport and Space.