End-of-Year Message

The XXIII B-MRS Meeting, held in Salvador, brought together around 2,000 participants from basic to technological sciences. Approximately 60% of these were undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral students, illustrating the importance of the event in bringing together these young scientists and providing opportunities for disseminating their research and establishing scientific collaborations. Technical lectures and panel discussions addressed gender issues and stimulated scientific dissemination and entrepreneurship.

B-MRS has contributed to the dissemination of opportunities for researchers and students through its website, monthly newsletter, and social media. The dissemination of papers from the community has illustrated the relevance of the scientific work produced by members of the Society.

The work with our University Chapters (UCs) has been strengthened thanks to the commitment of Professors Lucimara Roman and Ingrid Weber. The students’ enthusiasm for feeling part of the Society has been gratifying. In 2026, we will financially support UCs initiatives to contribute to their development and dissemination of their actions, which impact the academic and external environment.

The organization of the B-MRS Meeting 2026 is in full swing. The event will be held in the city of Curitiba (PR) from September 27th to October 1st, with scientific symposia in the most varied areas of materials science and internationally renowned speakers. In addition to short courses and roundtables. Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this event. We wish everyone an excellent 2026, full of personal and professional achievements.

May we all contribute to the scientific development of Brazil, to the training of new generations of scientists, and to stimulate entrepreneurship.

B-MRS Board

Papers by the community

A team of scientists from CNPEM, Unicamp, and institutions in the United States conducted a study that opens up interesting possibilities for controlling light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. The article was featured on the front cover of Nano Letters. The authors studied nanophotonic cavities – nanostructures capable of trapping light in a tiny space, causing it to interact strongly with materials. The research led to the discovery of a magnetic tuning mechanism in the cavities that makes the study and control of light-matter interactions more precise and versatile. The samples were prepared in Brazil and analyzed in the United States, but the idea is that experiments with nanoscopy techniques under extreme conditions, such as those carried out in this study, can be performed in the future at CNPEM. Go to the paper.

A Brazilian scientific team has developed a biosensor that helps diagnose metastasis of oral cancer non-invasively. The device detects a set of proteins, whose concentration in saliva signals the presence or absence of metastasis in people affected by the most common type of oral cancer, squamous cell carcinoma. To produce the device, the scientists immobilized specific antibodies on the surface of the ZIF-8 material (from the MOF family). When the antibodies react with the proteins of interest, ZIF-8 experiences a significant change in its capacitance (the ability to store energy), which signals the presence of the proteins in the saliva sample. Authored by researchers from CNPEM, Unesp, CTI Renato Archer, the USP Faculty of Medicine, and the Piracicaba Faculty of Dentistry at Unicamp, the article reporting this work was featured on the cover of the scientific journal Small. Go to the paper.

A team of researchers from IFSC-USP and EESC-USP produced strategic electronic materials with performance comparable, and even superior, to imported commercial equivalents. The authors developed three different liquid formulations based on PEDOT:PSS, a charge-conducting polymer widely used in organic electronics. Through precise adjustments to the polymer synthesis parameters, the team modulated the properties of each formulation to apply it to a specific energy harvesting or storage technology: thermoelectric generators, organic solar cells, and battery anodes. The article reporting this development was featured in a collection by the Royal Society of Chemistry publisher entitled “Celebrating Latin American Chemistry”. Go to the paper.

To share a prominent scientific article with significant participation of authors from the B-MRS community, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.

XXIV B-MRS Meeting
Curitiba (PR), September 27 to October 1, 2026

Symposia. 26 thematic symposia proposed by the community were approved to compose this edition of the event. See the symposia list.

Venue. The event will be held at the convention center UP Experience, in the city of Curitiba, capital of the state of Parana. Visit the website of the center.

Plenary lectures. The names of six scientists from Australia, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and the United States who will deliver plenary lectures at the event have already been confirmed. See here.

Registration and abstract submission. The event system will be open to receive registrations and submissions starting January 20th.

Chairs. The chairs of this edition are Prof. Gregório Couto Faria (IFSC-USP) and Prof. Paula Cristina Rodrigues (UTFPR).

Exhibitors. 16 companies and startups have already confirmed their participation in our booth exhibition. Organizations interested in booths and other forms of participation should contact us via comercial@sbpmat.org.br.

Opportunities

– A special issue of the scientific journal Polymer International (Wiley) seeks to highlight research in the field of polymers conducted in all regions of Brazil. When submitting, it is necessary to select the special issue “Tropical Polymer Science: Brazil from North to South” and address the letter to the guest editor Prof. Patricia Targon Campana. The call for articles is open until January 15th. Learn more.

– Discover Materials (Springer Nature) launched a call for papers for the special issue “Additive Manufacturing of Emergent Functional Materials”. The editors of this issue are organizers of a symposium held within the XXIII B-MRS Meeting about the design of functional materials for additive manufacturing. Submissions are open until December 31st. Learn more.

To publicize an opportunity for our community, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.

Upcoming events

– I Brazilian Neutron User Meeting. São Paulo (SP, Brazil). January 26 to 28, 2026. Site.

– 52nd International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings & Thin Films (ICMCTF2026). San Diego (USA). April 19 to 24, 2026. Site.

– 7th International Conference on Applied Surface Science. Chengdu (China). June 1 to 4, 2026. Site.

– 25th International Conference on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy (IPS-25). Seoul (South Korea). July 12 to 17, 2026. Site.

– International Conference on Science and Technology of Synthetic Electronic Materials (ICSM). Rio de Janeiro (RJ, Brazil). July, 19 to 24, 2026. Site.

– XXIV B-MRS Meeting. Curitiba (PR, Brazil). September 27 de setembro to October 1º, 2026. Site.

– 26º Congresso Brasileiro de Engenharia e Ciência dos Materiais (CBECIMAT 26). Florianópolis (SC, Brazil). November 22 to 26, 2026. Site.

– 13th International Conference of the African Materials Research Society (AMRS 2026). Nairobi (Kenya). December 5 to 10, 2026. Site.

To publicize an event for our community, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.

Follow us on social media

Papers by the community

Scientists from CNPEM, UFABC, and IFSC-USP have developed a photoelectrolyzer. The equipment generates hydrogen from the splitting of water molecules using only sunlight as an energy source, in a carbon-free process. The research was featured on the cover of the high-impact journal ACS Energy Letters. One of the main contributions of the work was the development of efficient and stable photoanodes, produced from abundant and low-cost raw materials using a scalable method. With these, the team assembled the electrolyzers, which were tested both in the laboratory and outdoors. The modular and self-sufficient system would be ideal for use in industries that need hydrogen at specific points, directly injecting the gas into industrial processes. Go to the paper.

A pair of scientists from UFSCar used an innovative computational strategy to conduct a fundamental study on crystallization, the process in which the atoms or molecules of a material organize themselves into an ordered structure. The accurate capture of the details of crystallization is challenging, mainly because the process involves nanometric sizes and extremely short timescales. To overcome this challenge, the researchers developed a machine learning model for aluminum and trained it exclusively with data from the liquid state, without any knowledge of crystalline structures. Even so, the model was able to correctly reproduce the crystallization dynamics of the material, showing how liquid aluminum evolved into an ordered crystalline state. This work opens up possibilities for the use of machine learning in computational materials science. Go to the paper.

A recently published article by a pair of researchers from USP (University of São Paulo) and a collaborator from Finland reports an advance in the production of fibers of PVDF, a polymer widely used as a biomaterial. The authors investigated the use of the electroblowing technique, which uses air pressure combined with electrical forces to produce a continuous and extensive mat of fibers from a liquid, and is characterized by its high production speed. To optimize the fibers in order to use them as biomaterials, the researchers incorporated precursors of hydroxyapatite (a material known for its bone bioactivity) into the polymer solution. The study opened up possibilities for using the method to manufacture fibers with greater morphological control and potentially more suitable for biomedical applications such as tissue regeneration. Go to the paper.

To share a prominent scientific article with significant participation of authors from the B-MRS community, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.

News from members

Former B-MRS president Monica Alonso Cotta (Professor at IFGW-Unicamp) is among the three new full members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) in the area of ​​Physical Sciences. The result of the last election of full members was announced on November 19th. In total, nineteen scientists (ten women and nine men) joined ABC this year, after being nominated and positively evaluated by full members of the Academy. Monica is the Pro-Rector of Undergraduate Studies at Unicamp and was Director of IFGW, the university’s Physics Institute. In addition, she is the Executive Editor of the journal ACS Applied Nano Materials. At B-MRS, she served as President for two consecutive terms, from 2020 to 2023, and as Scientific Director from 2016 to 2019.

XXIV B-MRS Meeting
Curitiba (Parana, Brazil), Sepember 27 to October 1st, 2026

Website. The event website is up. Check here.

Venue. The event will be held at the convention center UP Experience, in the city of Curitiba, capital of the state of Parana. Visit the website of the center.

Plenary lectures. The names of six scientists from Australia, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and the United States who will deliver plenary lectures at the event have already been confirmed. Check here.

Registration and abstract submission. The event system will be open to receive registrations and submissions starting January 20th.

Chairs. The chairs of this edition are Prof. Gregório Couto Faria (IFSC-USP) and Prof. Paula Cristina Rodrigues (UTFPR).

Exhibitors. 15 companies and startups have already confirmed their participation in our booth exhibition. Organizations interested in booths and other forms of participation should contact us via comercial@sbpmat.org.br.

Upcoming events

– Materials Research Meeting (MRS2025). Yokohama (Japan). December 8 to 13, 2025. Site.

– 19th International Conference on Advanced Materials (ICAM). Accra (Ghana). December 9 to 12, 2025. Site.

– I Brazilian Neutron User Meeting. São Paulo (SP, Brazil). January, 26 to 28, 2026. Site.

– 52nd International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings & Thin Films (ICMCTF2026). San Diego (USA). April 19 to 24, 2026. Site.

– 7th International Conference on Applied Surface Science. Chengdu (China). June 1 to 4, 2026. Site.

– 25th International Conference on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy (IPS-25). Seoul (South Korea). July 12 to 17, 2026. Site.

– XXIV B-MRS Meeting. Curitiba (PR, Brazil). September 27 to October 1, 2026. Site.

– 13th International Conference of the African Materials Research Society (AMRS 2026). Nairobi (Kenya). December 5 to 10, 2026. Site.

To publicize an event for our community, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.

Follow us on social media