KNOWLEDGE GENERATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

At present, the Institute is leader in several disciplines and since its inception, training of top level human resources has been linked to basic and applied scientific research, as well as to technological development. Within the framework of the Strategic Planning for Research and Graduate Studies, research takes place at all three educational levels at the academic units. Over 3,000 faculty members are in charge of 1 213 research projects. From our researchers, 725 are members of the National Researchers System. The Institute has a Hiring Program for Excellence Academicians in order to strengthen the IPN with top level scholars.

During 2008, the work of these researchers yielded the following results: 4 261 products, among them 50 books, 854 papers and over 1,600 conferences, six patents, 87 prototypes, 79 hardware and software development projects and 789 dissertations are worth mentioning. The IPN has contributed to national development in many ways: the indelible ink used in electoral processes; the technology development in order to use wind power at hydro-electric power
plants; “PLC” technology for voice, data and video transmission via the wiring of medium- and low-voltage power networks; a prickly «nopal» de-thorning machine to extend product shelf-life; and the molecules design for avoiding neurotransmitters degradation, effort that might contribute to the development of new drugs for Alzheimer treatment, among others.