section_path: Economy/Science and technology
section_name: Science and technology
paragraph_text: Science and technology
  
  Historically, Romanian researchers and inventors have made notable contributions to several fields. In the history of flight, Traian Vuia built the first aeroplane to take off under its own power and Aurel Vlaicu built and flew some of the earliest successful aircraft, while Henri Coandă discovered the Coandă effect of fluidics. Victor Babeș discovered more than 50 types of bacteria; biologist Nicolae Paulescu developed an extract of the pancreas and showed that it lowers blood sugar in diabetic dogs, thus being significant in the history of insulin; while Emil Palade received the Nobel Prize for his contributions to cell biology. Lazăr Edeleanu was the first chemist to synthesise amphetamine, and he also invented the procedure of separating valuable petroleum components with selective solvents.
  
  During the 1990s and 2000s, the development of research was hampered by several factors, including: corruption, low funding, and a considerable brain drain. In recent years, Romania has ranked the lowest or second-lowest in the EU by research and development spending as a percentage of GDP, standing at roughly 0.5% in 2016 and 2017, substantially below the EU average of just over 2%. The country joined the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2011, and CERN in 2016. In 2018, however, Romania lost its voting rights in the ESA due to a failure to pay €56.8 million in membership contributions to the agency.
  
  In the early 2010s, the situation for science in Romania was characterised as "rapidly improving" albeit from a low base. In January 2011, Parliament passed a law that enforces "strict quality control on universities and introduces tough rules for funding evaluation and peer review". Romania was ranked 48th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.
  
  The nuclear physics facility of the EU's proposed Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) laser will be built in Romania. In early 2012, Romania launched its first satellite from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. Starting in December 2014, Romania became a co-owner of the International Space Station.