TEHRAN — Iran has managed to secure the 6th place worldwide in nanotechnology by submitting 3,792 articles during the first half of the current year, said an official with the national nanotechnology development headquarters on Tuesday.

Ali Beitollahi made the remarks in a five-day forum on nanoscience and nanotechnology development which opened on Monday in Malaysia’s University Putra Malaysia.

Last year, Iran succeeded in achieving the 7th place after China, the U.S., India, South Korea, Germany, and Japan by submitting 6,690 articles, accounting for 4.72 percent of the total articles from across the world, Beitollahi explained.

He went on to say that since 2005 the national nanotechnology development headquarters has been making policies, assessing achievements in field of nanotechnologies, raising public awareness about nanaoscience, improving quality of life and creating lucrative markets.

Moreover, since 2008 some 558,000 students have been trained in this field in nanotechnology clubs and there are currently 66 labs for such students which will almost grow 6 folds in four years, he added.

For the time being, 65 universities are offering master’s degree programs and 23 are offering PhD degrees programs in Iran, Beitollahi said, adding, there are some 30,000 experts active in this field in Iran.

There are currently 112 companies active in this sector in the country by manufacturing healthcare products, agricultural equipment, textiles, etc., he said.

MQ/MG