BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Rocket science, quantum physics, aspirin, and the diesel engine mark the heyday of Germany'scientific glory, but those days are long gone. Now the nation is searching for its next Einstein.

Decades of underfunding and a distaste for the elitism brought on by the Nazis has meant the world's third-largest economy is trailing its global competitors. After World War II sparked a backlash against the Nazi ethic of natural selection and survival of the fittest, universities focused on equality rather than individual excellence.

"The egalitarian approach ─ born of a fear of elitism after the war ─ worked well in many ways, but people forgot you can't train everyone to get a Nobel prize," said Stefan Treue, Director of the German Primate Centre, an institute in Goettingen which works closely with the university.

With only five universities in the United States-dominated top 100 ─ the University of Munich is highest at 48 ─ Germany has launched a scheme to compete for funding and create its own "Ivy League."

Two Nobel prizes awarded last month to Germans─ a physicist and a chemist ─ have revived pride in the country's scientific heritage.

"There is a fresh wind," said Kurt von Figura, president of Goettingen's Georg-August University, one of Germany's oldest and most prestigious educational institutions. "You lose a good reputation over a long period of time and it also takes a long time to rebuild it."

Between 1901 and 1931, German universities and institutes produced 15 Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and 10 in physics ─ more than any other country. Since 1984, research at U.S. institutions has yielded almost 10 times the number of German-based winners in both fields.

"It's hard to measure, but some data suggest Germany is not doing so well any more, and it needs to do all it can to push ahead. Innovation is essential for the economy in the long term," said Klaus Schruefer, an economist at SEB in Frankfurt.

(Agencies)