The V SBMAT Meeting will be held in October 8 to12, 2006, at the Costão do Santinho Resort & SPA, road Vereador Onildo Lemos, 2505, Beach of the Santinho, in the city of Florianópolis, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The Costão do Santinho is considered the best resort for meetings in Brazil.

For the plenary and keynote lectures a 900 seat auditorium will be available, and up to 10 rooms will be available for the 13 symposia oral presentations. An ample hall is reserved for posters sections and industry and academy expositions.

About Florianópolis

The city of Florianopolis is the political capital of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and the tourist capital of Mercosul. Located on the Island of Santa Catarina, but extending its limits to mainland, Florianopolis has an unmatched landscape. It merges the exuberance of mountains to the beauties of sand dunes, small islands along the coast and over a hundred beaches, which offer visitors different options, from calm waters and relaxing bays to open sea and surfing waves. Native tracks also encourage adventurers to explore the inspiring environment of the Atlantic forest.

Florianopolis is not only famous for its unrivaled natural beauties, visited by tourists from different countries, but also for its historical meaning. Ancient moments can be relived by the rustic painting work left by the Native Americans on rocks throughout the region. Last Portuguese village in Brazil up to the 18th century, the island was defended by four well preserved fortresses. Legends of sunk galleons are proved right by relics recovered both from the bottom of the sea and along the coast.
During the early years of the Republic, the island was used to imprison political exiled, enemies of Marshal Floriano, who inspired the current name of the city. Its geographical position naturally turned Florianopolis into an important port of call to seamen and aviators traveling North-South. The island was used as airport by French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on its South courier route. The famous beach of Campeche, one of the beauties of the island, was named by him.

The local population mainly descends from Azoreans. Portuguese immigrating to Florianopolis brought and passed along their traditions including fishing, dancing, knitting and witch stories. Florianopolis is still remembered as the Magic Island. The traditional Portuguese culinary is also considered one of the best in Brazil. Typical seafood recipes are accompanied by a fish or shrimp and manioc flour pudding. Presently, 450 thousand inhabitants from different origins live on the island. Brazilians from different regions have also been attracted to the natural treasures of the island.

Relate Links

www.guiafloripa.com.br
www.ufsc.br
www.sol.sc.gov.br/santur/
www.costao.com

About Brazil

Brazil is a country of continental dimensions (8,500,000 km2), occupying 47% of the South American territory, with a population of 183 million inhabitants. It is the fifth largest country in the world in size, the fifth largest in population and occupies the top 20 list in the global economy with a GNP of US$ 950 billion. The Brazilian people have many origins, mainly because of the immigration of more than 7 million people from all continents. This has contributed a lot for the development of the country, resulting in the largest Japanese and Italian colonies outside their countries. The main attractions of Brazil are the Amazonas river basin, the low lands of Mato Grosso (Pantanal), Iguaçu Falls at the boundary with Argentina, the old baroque towns of Ouro Preto and Olinda, the former capitals Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, the modern nation's capital Brasilia and the 8,000 km of beautiful sand beaches along the coast.

General Information

The Conference will be held during southern hemisphere springtime. The average temperature at that time of the year ranges from 17°C to 23°C, although the minimum occasionally reaches 8°C and the maximum 32°C.

Passaport and Visa Requirements: The Brazilian visa policy is based on reciprocity, that is citizens from countries that require visas for Brazilian citizens are subject to the same formality when coming to Brazil. Visas may be obtained at Brazilian Consulates.

Currency: Brazilian currency is the Real (R$).
Major credit cards are generally accepted.

Copyright 2006
V Encontro da SBPMat - Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisas em Materiais