The University of Oviedo, the Government of the Principality and the CSIC have singed an agreement to update the regulations of the Center of Research on Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (CINN). The mixed center, managed by the three institutions, is specialized in the development of new materials and it has recently inaugurated at the municipality of San Martín del Rey Aurelio a new industrial development team to create multifunctional nanostructured materials, the so-called "ultra materials".

The agreement involves, as put by Rector Vicente Gotor, the renewal of an alliance that began six years ago, and which "implies a very important thing in these times of budgetary cuts: that in terms of research we are still capable of looking forward to the future", he said. "In these moments, what is more important than ever is to join our efforts", claimed the Rector, "both in terms of resources and qualified staff, as it is the best way to improve our competitiveness".

The President of the Asturian Government, Javier Fernández, has reaffirmed his commitment to the funding of this center and its research acitivities, and has mentioned the plan for science approved by the Asturian Government for the years 2007-2013, with a tentative expenditure of 1,288 million euros.

In turn, the President of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Emilio Lora, said that "many enterprises" have already shown an interest in the activity of the center, "closely related to the industry, especially after the inauguration a month ago of a sintering team that has already attracted the attention of several enterprises". For the CSIC, this mixed center has coordinated with an exceptional quality research on local, national and international level with an activity of a horizontal dimension, which allows for the creation of new materials based on the nanometric structures in many fields of science, technology and industry.