Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Spain

The CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) is the largest and leading public research institution in Spain and the third in Europe due to the quality and quantity of its scientific production. It plays an essential role within the Spanish System for Science, Technology and Innovation and contributes to reinforce Spain’s position at the international level.

CSIC’s main aim is to develop and promote scientific studies to contribute to foster scientific and technological progress. CSIC's mission includes: 1) multidisciplinary scientific and technical research; 2) scientific and technical advice; 3) transferring results to the private sector; 4) contributing to the creation of technology-driven companies; 5) training specialised personnel; 6) management of infrastructure and large facilities; 7) promoting scientific culture. The CSIC is multidisciplinary, carrying out research in almost all fields of knowledge. Its activities encompass basic research all the way through to technological development.

The CSIC is present in all the autonomous regions through their centres across Spain. It comprises 120 centres spread across Spain, and is also present in Brussels and Rome. It is formed by employees with a wide range of academic qualifications and professional categories. The CSIC employs 11,000 people, of which 3.000 are researchers. In total, they represent the 6% of Spain’s R&D workforce and generate approximately the 20% of the country’s production. Likewise, the CSIC collaborates with other juridical entities such as consortia and trading companies.

1 December 2017 - 30 November 2018

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) published between 1 December 2017 - 30 November 2018 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the FC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

AC	FC
1053	200.57

Outputs by subject (FC)

Subject	AC	FC
Life Sciences	287	53.73
Physical Sciences	529	82.21
ACS Nano	12	3.42
Advanced Functional Materials	14	3.81
Advanced Materials	5	2.85
Applied Physics Letters	16	6.19
Astronomy & Astrophysics	15	3.99
European Physical Journal C	89	9.23
Journal of High Energy Physics	132	13.12
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters	23	3.27
Nano Letters	25	4.13
Nature	8	0.63
Nature Communications	23	3.38
Nature Materials	1	0.20
Nature Nanotechnology	3	0.64
Nature Photonics	2	1.55
Nature Physics	4	0.68
Physical Review A	2	0.30
Physical Review B	30	5.79
Physical Review D	2	0.42
Physical Review Letters	46	10.38
Physical Review X	4	0.26
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America	10	1.69
Science	3	0.15
Science Advances	3	0.21
The Astrophysical Journal Letters	57	5.92
Chemistry	242	61.88
Earth & Environmental Sciences	96	23.19

Highlight of the month

Building a biodegradable rainbow

An easy way to pattern the surface of cellulose so that it forms a colourful photonic crystal has been developed.

As society looks for sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to common plastics, cellulose is attracting increasing interest. The planet’s most abundant biopolymer, cellulose is readily available, cheap and biodegradable. It can also be processed into cellulose nanoparticles, which have many applications.

Although cellulose typically scatters light diffusely — the property that makes paper white — nanocellulose can incorporate microstructural features that interact with light to give it colour. Structural colour also gives some butterfly wings their iridescence, for example.

Researchers from the Spanish National Research Council have shown that a technology called soft nanoimprinting lithography can easily create these features in a cellulose derivative. The team could stamp a submicrometre scale pattern onto a hot hydroxypropyl cellulose surface, forming free-standing photonic crystals that produce a rainbow of colours.

The crystals could be used for various photonic and plasmonic applications.

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