Science - technology relationships has been a prominent topic in the history of technology from the very origin of this field and even before its birth. D’Alembert in the introduction to the “Encyclopédie” stated: “When you are reflecting on the links between the discoveries it is easy to realize that the sciences and the arts are supporting each other and consequently that there is a chain which unites them”. Lucien Febvre in its manifest for the establishment of a new branch of history published in 1935 in “Les Annales” defined 3 main steps to get over: a technical (internal) history of technology, a history of science – technology relationships and the integration of these 2 approaches into a broad economic and socio-political history.

It is important to emphasize that the borders between science and technology are permeable and are not strictly reflecting the reality. Quite often the links between them are so strong that their separation is artificial. The distinction between science and technology are mainly based on various aims, the technology has in view efficiency and ability and science has in view knowledge.

In ICOHTEC, the international society of the History of Technology, the topic of science – technology relationships has, naturally, had a privileged place. It has been present from the beginning (1968) in mainly all ICOHTEC symposia at different levels, disregarding the main theme. And it is normal because many themes in the history of technology have a science – technology relationships dimension. Three symposia were specifically consecrated to this theme: the meeting in Dresden 1986, which was devoted to the relations between technology and the engineering sciences; the large ICOHTEC symposium on “Science-Technology Relationships” in Paris 1990, which has broadened the debate in all its various aspects (publication edited by Alexandre Herlea, San Francisco Press 1993) and the extensive session on “Materials: Research, Development and Applications”, Liege 1997, which deals with science – technology relationships in the field of materials (publication ed. by Hans-Joachim Braun and Alexandre Herlea, Turnhout, Brepols 2002).

What contributions did ICOHTEC make to the discussion? How did the topic develop and what is the present state? What about applied science, experimental science, engineering science, science-based technology and technology-based science, what about technology developing independent from science? What about “research technologies”, the “triple helix” debate and the “Stanford-Yale-Sussex Synthesis”? What about current research topics like biotechnology or nanotechnology and what about future research perspectives? These are the questions to which I will try to answer in my paper.