New Board of Directors

The Executive Board that will manage B-MRS during the 2026-2027 biennium took office on January 6th of this year during an Ordinary General Assembly held online. On that occasion, the results of the electoral process concluded in October of last year were ratified, which elected the new Board and four new members of the Deliberative Council. The new Board reflects the geographical, gender, and knowledge area diversity that the Society has strived to maintain, and includes several members from the previous administration. Learn more.

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

Submissions. Abstract submission is open until March 30th. Read the guidelines for authors and access the submission system, here.

Symposia. Abstracts must be submitted within the 27 symposia that comprise the event. In addition to the 26 thematic symposia proposed by the community, the list includes the AA symposium, dedicated to posters on advanced materials topics not included in the other symposia. See the list of symposia.

Venue. The event will be held at the convention center UP Experience, in the city of Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná. 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. Registration is now open. See the prices per category and the important discounts for active B-MRS members, here.

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

Exhibitors. 17 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.

FAQ. If you have questions about the event, please consult the frequently asked questions or write to 24encontro@sbpmat.org.br.

Community

B-MRS members wrote a tribute to Prof. Heinz von Seggern. The distinguished German materials scientist, who was a Professor at TU Darmstadt, passed away on January 7th of this year. Prof. von Seggern interacted with researchers and groups in Brazil since the late 1970s, was a regular attendee of the B-MRS Meetings, and delivered a plenary lecture at the 2018 event. Read the text.

Opportunities

– Postdoc position in Experimental Molecular Physics at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil. Applications by February 15. Learn more.

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

Upcoming events

– 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.

– 20th International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering (PSE). Erfurt (Germany), with the possibility of virtual participation for researchers from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. August 31 to September 3, 2026. Site.

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

– XXV B-MRS Meeting. Fortaleza (CE, Brazil). September 12 to 16 de setembro, 2027.

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

Membership

B-MRS membership dues for 2026 can now be paid, both for those wishing to become B-MRS members for the first time and for existing members wishing to renew their membership. Members who have paid annual fees for two or more consecutive years receive a discount this year. Payment of member fee grants significant discounts on the B-MRS Meeting registration fee, among other benefits. Learn more.

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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.

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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.

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B-MRS elections 2025: results

The slate that ran for the B-MRS Executive Board was elected with 99% of the votes. Therefore, in 2026 and 2027, Ivan Bechtold (UFSC) and Ieda Garcia (UFPB) will continue as President and Administrative Director, respectively, and the society will have a team of five Scientific Directors with good regional and gender representation: Ana Sofia Clímaco Monteiro D’Oliveira (UFPR), Felipe Bohn (UFRN), Ingrid Távora Weber (UnB), Lucas Fugikawa Santos (UNESP-Rio Claro), and Rossana Mara da Silva Moreira Thiré (UFRJ). In addition, four new members of the Deliberative Council were elected in the vote. Learn more.

XXIV B-MRS Meeting: call for symposium proposals

The next B-MRS Meeting will be held from September 27th to October 1st, 2026 in the city of Curitiba (PR), at the UP Experience event complex. The event chairs are Professors Gregório Couto Faria (IFSC-USP) and Paula Cristina Rodrigues (UTFPR). Five prominent scientists from Australia, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and USA have already confirmed their participation in the plenary lectures. As always, the program will be set around the thematic symposia proposed and organized by the international scientific community. The call for symposium proposals is open until November 30th. See the call.

Papers by the community

Researchers from Unesp – Bauru and UnB conducted a detailed computational study on a two-dimensional material synthesized for the first time earlier this year, tantalum carboselenide (Ta2Se2C). The material is the newest member of a family whose layered structure combines the electronic richness of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with the robustness of MXenes. Based on Density Functional Theory, this work investigated the potential of the new material for use as an anode in rechargeable batteries. The results showed that the two-dimensional version of Ta2Se2C is a competitive option for use in high-performance anodes for batteries with lithium- or sodium-based cathodes. This pioneering Brazilian study paves the way for further theoretical and experimental investigations into the possibilities of the new material. Go to the paper.

In heterostructures (“sandwiches” formed by layers of different two-dimensional materials), very interesting effects occur at the interfaces between the layers. In an article recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Nano Letters, researchers from UFSCar and CNPEM, along with collaborators from Germany, the USA, and the Netherlands, report a study on a two-dimensional magnetic heterostructure. In this structure, the researchers observed, for the first time, a specific energy transfer effect, controlled by the magnetic field, with the potential to be used to manipulate optical and magnetic properties in quantum technologies. 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.

XXIII B-MRS Meeting: report from the event

The event, held from September 28th to October 2nd of this year in Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, set a new record for participants, with over 2,100 people. The event also surpassed previous editions in the number of short courses offered and hosted an official BRICS meeting on materials and nanotechnology research. Bahian culture was present at the opening ceremony and the conference party. Furthermore, during the event, B-MRS awarded two distinctions to scientists from the Northeast region, 42 prizes for the best works presented by students, one prize for the best oral presentation by an early career woman, and four prizes for the best science outreach videos produced by participants. See the report.

Community: interview

We interviewed Professor Dulce Maria de Araújo Melo (UFRN), a prominent scientist in the community who was awarded the José Arana Varela Award from B-MRS this year. The scientist was fundamental in introducing materials research at UFRN. Furthermore, she has built a prolific scientific career that has resulted in approximately 300 articles published in international journals, nearly 200 completed supervisions, and 20 patents filed or granted. At the XXIII B-MRS Meeting, she received a commemorative plaque and gave a lecture on her recent work developing a sustainable method for producing hydrogen from biogas. Read the interview and learn more about Professor Dulce.

Advocacy

– A manifesto signed by B-MRS, published on October 9th, expresses concern about the low number of junior postdoctoral fellowships made available through the Call for Proposals No. 49/2024 of the Brazilian federal science agency CNPq. In the areas of Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Engineering, the number is equivalent to 10% of the applications received. The text emphasizes the need to increase the number of fellowships offered. On October 13th, B-MRS and the scientific societies of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy sent a joint letter on the same subject to the President of CNPq.

Opportunities

– 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

– 11th International Symposium on Sensor Science (I3S 2025). Barcelona (Spain). November 17 to 19, 2025. Site.

– Brazilian Young Researchers in Soft Matter. Campinas (SP, Brazil). November 21, 2025. Site.

– XI Workshop de Pesquisa e Tecnologia em Ciência dos Materiais & I Simpósio Internacional em Materiais e Biomateriais. Sorocaba (SP, Brazil). December 2 to 4, 2025. Site.

– 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.

– XXIV B-MRS Meeting. Curitiba (PR, Brazil). September 27 to October 1, 2026. Call for symposium proposals.

– 13th International Conference of the African Materials Research Society (AMRS 2026). Nairobi (Kenya). December 5 to10, 2026. Site.

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

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