Editing Economy of Ecuador (section)

==Sciences and research==

[[File:NEE-01-PEGASO.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency|EXA]]'s first satellite, [[NEE-01 Pegasus]]]]

Ecuador was placed in 96th position of innovation in technology in a 2013 [[World Economic Forum]] study.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131104000235/http://elcomercio.com/sociedad/Tecnologia-innovacion-emprendimiento-emprendedores-Ecuador-desarrollo-nuevasTecnologias_0_995900422.html Ecuador ocupa el puesto 96 en innovación tecnológica]. elcomercio.com. 19 September 2013</ref> Ecuador was ranked 91st in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2021 up from 99th in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2021  |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2021/|work=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]|publisher=[[United Nations]]|access-date=5 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Release of the Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Will Finance Innovation?|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2020/index.html|access-date=2 September 2021|website=www.wipo.int|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Innovation Index 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=2 September 2021|website=www.wipo.int|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=RTD – Item|url=https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/rtd/items/691898|access-date=2 September 2021|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 October 2013|title=Global Innovation Index|url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|access-date=2 September 2021|website=INSEAD Knowledge|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|url-status=dead}}</ref> The most notable icons in Ecuadorian sciences are the mathematician and cartographer [[Pedro Vicente Maldonado]], born in Riobamba in 1707, and the printer, independence pioneer, and medical pioneer [[Eugenio Espejo]], born in 1747 in Quito. Among other notable Ecuadorian scientists and engineers are Lieutenant Jose Rodriguez Labandera,<ref>Lavandera, J.R. (27 December 2009).{{cite web|url=http://m.expreso.ec/ediciones/2009/12/27/guayaquil/guayaquil/jose-rodriguez-lavandera--el-inventor/ |title=José rodríguez lavandera, el inventor |access-date=26 January 2011 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510005403/http://m.expreso.ec/ediciones/2009/12/27/guayaquil/guayaquil/jose-rodriguez-lavandera--el-inventor/ |archive-date=10 May 2011  }} . expreso.ec</ref> who built the first [[submarine]] in Latin America in 1837; [[:es:Reinaldo Espinosa Aguilar|Reinaldo Espinosa Aguilar]] (1898–1950), a botanist and biologist of Andean flora; and [[:es:José Aurelio Dueñas|José Aurelio Dueñas]] (1880–1961), a chemist and inventor of a method of textile serigraphy, reputed to have many wives.

The major areas of scientific research in Ecuador have been in the medical fields, tropical and infectious diseases treatments, agricultural engineering, pharmaceutical research, and bioengineering. Being a small country and a consumer of foreign technology, Ecuador has favored research supported by entrepreneurship in information technology. The antivirus program ''Checkprogram'', banking protection system ''MdLock'', and Core Banking Software ''Cobis'' are products of Ecuadorian development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2009/02/01/0217/220/3A2B9B57BD244019AC0760C8CBF7C0EB.html |title=Checkprogram press release |publisher=Eluniverso.com |access-date=24 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119052834/http://www.eluniverso.com/2009/02/01/0217/220/3A2B9B57BD244019AC0760C8CBF7C0EB.html |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

The scientific production in hard sciences has been limited due to lack of funding but focused around physics, statistics, and partial differential equations in mathematics.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} In the case of engineering fields, the majority of scientific production comes from the top three polytechnic institutions: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral – ''[[Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral|ESPOL]]'', Universidad de Las Fuerzas Armadas – ''[[ESPE]]'', and Escuela Politécnica Nacional ''[[National Polytechnic School|EPN]]''. The [[Center for Research and Technology Development in Ecuador]] is an autonomous center for research and technology development funded by Senecyt.

However, according to ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', the multidisciplinary scientific journal, the top 10 institutions that carry the most outstanding scientific contributions are: Yachay Tech University ([[Yachay University|''Yachay Tech'']]), Escuela Politécnica Nacional (''[[National Polytechnic School|EPN]])'', and Universidad San Francisco de Quito ''([[Universidad San Francisco de Quito|USFQ]])''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 June 2019 |title=Nature Index – Top 10 institutions from Ecuador|url=https://www.natureindex.com/country-outputs/ecuador}}</ref>