Tag: sbpmat

SBPMat´s community people: an interview with Fernando Lázaro Freire Junior.

Posted on Wednesday 28 de May de 2014
Professor Fernando Lázaro Freire Júnior.

On May 6th, at the Naval School of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) held the tenure ceremony of its new members, elected in a process of nomination and evaluation by their peers, performed throughout 2013. In the event, 24 scientists were assigned as full members of ABC.  Among those, in the field of Physical Sciences, there was Professor Fernando Lázaro de Freire Junior, Materials researcher and former president of SBPMat.

Contemplating the ideia of being a researcher, Fernando Lázaro chose to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics by the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RIO), earning it in 1978. In 1979, he started teaching in the same university, while attending his Master’s (1979-1981) and Doctorate (1981-1985) courses in Physics there. During his graduate studies, Fernando Lázaro made his first scientific interventions in the field of Materials by means of an ion accelerator, initially used by him for works in Atomic Physics. In 1998, he went to Università degli Studi di Padova (in Italy) for his Postdoctoral studies, working with materials surfaces and interfaces.

From 2003 to 2008, he was the Director of PUC-Rio’s Physics Department. From 2008 to 2012, he coordinated the field of Physics and Astronomy in the Research Foundation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). In Europhysics Letters (a journal from the European Physical Society), Professor Lázaro worked as coeditor between 2006 and 2010, and advisory editor from 2010 to 2013. In SBPMat, he served two consecutive terms as president, two as scientific director and one as financial director.

Currently, Fernando Lázaro is a Full Professor in PUC-Rio and director of Centro the Brazilian Center for Research in Physics (CBPF), in addition to being a member of the FAPERJ’s Higher Board and coordinator of the National Institute of Surface Engineering. Author of over 170 scientific articles, with more than 2500 citations, he is a level 1A researcher in the Brazilian National Research Foundation, CNPq. Among his most relevant papers, there are several studies on carbon-based materials: DLC (diamond-like carbon) films, nanotubes and, more recently, graphene.

Following there is a brief interview with the researcher.

SBPMat newsletter: – Tell us a little about your history: what led you to become a scientist and work in the field of Materials?

Fernando Lázaro: – I always enjoyed Physics and Mathematics during high school, but in 1974 I had no ideia, when I applied for college entrance exams, that it was possible to do research in Brazil. Because of this, I took the exam to major in Electrical Engineering in PUC-Rio, and only there I realized that it was possible to perform researches in the field of Physics, in Brazil. Then, I transferred myself to the Bachelor’s in Physics, which was easier, as in 1975 PUC-Rio already had a common Basic Cycle for the whole of its Scientific and Technical Center. So, I didn’t waste any time. I was in my second year in the undergraduate studies. My graduate studies, then, still in PUC-Rio, were in Atomic Physics, using an ion accelerator as a working tool. As such accelerator was also a great tool to analyze materials, it was through this path that I entered into the field of Materials.

SBPMat newsletter- What do you consider as your main contributions to the field of Materials?

Fernando Lázaro: – My research has always been conducted in collaboration with several colleagues and students, and I think we made an important contribution to the study of nanostructured carbon films (diamond-like carbon films, DLC), as attested by the papers with a high number of citations and all the invitations to be invited lecturer in many international congresses. It is evident that supervising students has been important too, as well the management positions in PUC-Rio, CBPF and SBPMat.

SBPMat newsletter: – Choose some of your more highlighted papers, and comment on them, if possible.

Fernando Lázaro: – My most cited paper is an article in Applied Physics Letters, published in 1992, coauthored by Carlos Achete, from COPPE/UFRJ, and Dante Franceschini, currently at UFF, on the nitrogen incorporation in DLC films  [Franceschini, D. F. ; Achete, C. A. ; Freire Junior, F. L. Internal Stress Reduction By Nitrogen Incorporation In Hard a-C:H Thin Films. Applied Physics Letters, New York, v. 60, p. 3229-3231, 1992]. It was released at the right time, and offered a relevant result for the issue of the applications of such materials, namely, the decrease of the internal tension of the film (an important factor in the debonding of films from the substrates), without a significant change in its hardness.

SBPMat newsletter: – In your opinion, what are the main challenges in your current research field for Materials Science and Engineering?

Fernando Lázaro: – I have been working with graphene and carbon nanotubes. For both, the production of good quality samples, in a controlled and profitable form, still represents a great obstacle for the use of those materials in a broader way than the one that has been verified up to this point.

SBPMat newsletter: – Send a message to our readers who are starting their careers as scientists.

Fernando Lázaro – An encouraging message. The material working conditions nowadays are much better than when I started, three decades ago; the same can be said about the wages in academia. So, things have improved and tend to keep getting better, and I think it is feasible to conduct good quality researches, with an international impact, in Brazil.

SBPMat e-newsletter. Year 1, issue 4.

Posted on Monday 5 de May de 2014

Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) newsletter

News update from Brazil for the Materials community

 
English edition. Year 1, issue 4.
Greetings, .

SBPMat’s news

XIII SBPMat meeting:

João Pessoa, September 28th, to October 2nd.

– Until May 23rd, the submission of abstracts is open for the SBPMAT symposia, which cover 19 different fields. The best papers presented by students in each symposium will be granted with the Bernhard Gross Award, and may be published in a special issue of IOP’s open access journal. More.

– Do you wish to help promoting the XIII SBPMat Meeting? On the website of the event, you may find and print its poster and folder.

Other SBPMat news

– Materials Today published our “featured paper” of March. Read.

– Our Facebook profile already has more than 1,000 followers. Don’t you know it yet? Like our Facebook and follow the Brazilian and international news on Materials research.

Featured paper with Brazilian participation
A team of researchers from Brazilian universities (Federal University of Uberlândia and University of Brasília) have developed a new method to synthesize quantum dots. In addition to be cheap, reproducible and efficient to produce the minuscule semiconductor crystals, the method comes with a bonus: the modulation of the thickness of the quantum dots’ shells. Promising for biotechnological applications, the results of the paper were published on ACS Nano. Read the story.

(To suggest papers with Materials focus with Brazilian participation published in high impact journals for this section of our newsletter contact comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br)

SBPMat’s community people

We talked with researcher Fernando Zawislak, the introducer of the field of ion implantation in Brazil. More than 30 years ago, Zawislak founded the Ion Implantation Laboratory at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) – still the largest in Latin America, to this day – which approaches numerous fields of knowledge by means of the creation of nanostructures and the analysis of materials with ion beams. The scientist also was one the founders of the Graduate Studies Program in Materials Sciences in UFRGS. In our interview, the Emeritus Professor talked about such contributions and what led him to achieve them. He also left a message to younger researchers, advising them to choose a field they like, an advisor in a modern research field, and to have an entrepreneurial spirit and an open mind to multidisciplinarity.

Read our interview with Fernando Zawislak.

Professor Edgar Zanotto honored for his actions for the development of the city of São Carlos, the “Brazilian Capital of Technology“. Here.

Professor Victor Pandolfelli elected for the advisory board of the World Academy of Ceramics. Here.

Reading recommendations
Science journalism stories based on papers published in journals with high impact factor.

– Biomimetic materials: inspired by the structure of nacre, new ceramics achieves tenacity, resistance and hardness (based on paper from Nature Materials). Read it here.

– As it was reinforced concrete, graphene is reinforced with carbon nanotubes, with potential use in flexible screens (based on paper from ACS Nano). Read it here.

– Nanobionic plants: carbon nanotubes enhance the photosynthesis and introduce non-natural functions to plants (based on paper from Nature Materials). Read it here.

– Acoustic cloak: 3D device turns a region of space “invisible to sound” (based on paper from Nature Materials). Read it here.
Materials news from the Brazilian National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs).

– INCT on Functional Complex Materials: Triboelectrification is an important element of friction. Read it here.

– Nanotoxicity of graphene and graphene oxide: paper of Brazilian researchers on the cover of ACS journal. Read it here.

– Sensor developed in INCT Namitec is used in floriculture. Read it here.

– Namitec develops sensor for ionizing radiation, which may prevent interferences in devices for satellites, airplanes etc. Read it here.

Upcoming events in the area.
– 10º Encontro Brasileiro sobre Adsorção. Here.

– 9th Ibero-American Conference on Membrane Science and Technology (CITEM 2014). Here.

– 13th International Conference on Modern Materials and Technologies (CIMTEC 2014). Here.

– 1st International Conference on Polyol Mediated Synthesis. Here.

– 2º Workshop Adesão Microbiana e Superfícies. Here.

– 13th European Vacuum Conference + 7th European Topical Conference on Hard Coatings + 9th Iberian Vacuum Meeting. Here.

– 19th International Conference on Ion Beam Modification of Materials. Here.

– XIII SBPMat Meeting. Here.

– MM&FGM 2014 – 13th International Symposium on Multiscale, Multifunctional and Functionally Graded Materials. Here.

– X Brazilian Symposium on Glass and Related Materials (X-BraSGlass). Here.
To suggest news, opportunities, events or reading recommendations items for inclusion in our newsletter, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.
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XIII SBPMat Meeting: abstract submission and Bernhard Gross Award.

Posted on Tuesday 22 de April de 2014

João Pessoa. Crédito: Cacio MuriloAbstract submission for the XIII Meeting of the Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) is open until May 23rd. The event will be held from September 28th to October 02nd, in João Pessoa, at the city’s brand new Convention Center.

Papers from Brazilian or foreign researchers and students will be accepted in any field of the 19 symposia of the event, which cover various themes regarding materials research and its applications. The symposia were selected by the event’s organizing committee, based on the proposals received for a call for symposia released in last October, directed to the whole scientific community.

The best papers in each symposium (at most, a poster and an oral presentation) presented by undergraduate or graduate students will receive the Bernhard Gross Award by the end of the event. The winning papers may be published in a special issue of the open access journal “IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering”, dedicated to the best papers of the XIII SBPMat Meeting.

About the SBPMat Meetings

The annual SBPMat meeting is a traditional international forum devoted to the recent advances and perspectives in Materials science and technology. In its last editions, the event has gathered about 1,500 participants, coming from the five regions in Brazil, and dozens of others countries, to present and discuss scientific and technological research results in the Materials field. The event also counts with plenary lectures given by internationally renowned researchers, as well as exhibitors concerned by the Materials community.

Instructions for submitting abstracts and participating in the Bernhard Gross Award: http://sbpmat.org.br/13encontro/authors/?lang=en

SBPMat e-newsletter – year 1 – issue 3

Posted on Friday 4 de April de 2014

 

Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) newsletter

News update from Brazil for the Materials community

 

English edition. Year 1, issue 3.

Greetings, .

SBPMat’s news

XIII SBPMat meeting:

João Pessoa, September 28th, to October 2nd.

  • Abstracts submission up to May 23rd.
  • Notification of the accepted abstracts: July 15th.
  • Early registration up to August 15th.
  • Pay attention to the instructions for authors, in order to know how to submit papers to symposia and apply for the Bernhard Gross Award. Here.

Go to the website of the XIII SBPMat Meeting, English version.

University Chapters

The UC program from SBPMat was launched. Students may form organized groups linked to the society to organize lectures and other activities related to Science and Technology, attend events, enter in exchange programs etc, counting with an annual budget and financial support. The application form is already available. See it.

Featured paper with Brazilian participation
This month, we highlight a communication published by Nanoscale and prepared by research groups in Brazil with partners from Spain and France. The scientists assembled sensors based on nanorods of silver tungstate and assessed their performance to detect ozone – a gas that, above certain amounts, is harmful to health. Silver tungstate has proved to be a great material to be used in ozone sensors. Read the story.

(To suggest papers with Materials focus with Brazilian participation published in high impact journals for this section of our newsletter contact comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br)

SBPMat’s community people

We spoked with scientist Sergio Mascarenhas, known in our community for creating, in 1970, the first course of Materials Engineering of Latin America. Mascarenhas has provided important contributions to the field of Materials, as his studies with ionic crystals, used in optical memories. He also went further, though, and guided by the idea of fulfilling the social role of the scientist, accomplished achievements permeating fields as Biology, Medicine and Farming. The 85 year old scientist is currently concerned with encouraging the youth to develop some frontier subjects he considers very important for human kind, complex systems and biomimetics.

Read our interview with Sergio Mascarenhas.

History of SBPMat
We started a series of interviews with former SBPMat presidents on the work of the successive directory boards of our Society. In the interview with Guillermo Solórzano, read which were the main actions, challenges and pending issues of the founding board (2001-2003), the highlights of the first SBPMat meetings and more. Here.

Reading recommendations
Science journalism stories based on papers published in journals with high impact factor.

  • Nanoparticles of platinum and nickel, eroded on the inside, form a nanoframe with optimized design for electrocatalysis (based on paper from Science). Here.
  • Graphene membranes desalinize water in subnanometric scale (based on paper from Science). Here.
  • In addition to produce electricity from the sun, perovskite-based material emit light of various colors (based on paper from Nature Materials). Here.
  • New technique to produce graphene membranes for monolayer and multilayer filters (based on paper from Nano Letters). Here.
  • New biomaterial: gel contracts when subject to the temperature of the human body and lead steam cells to start the formation of teeth (based on paper from Advanced Materials). Here.
  • Drug delivery system for patients with glaucoma: nanodiamonds in contact lenses (based on paper from ACS Nano). Here.
  • Bacteria in liquid crystal interact and form new material applicable in Biomedicine. View text and video (based on article from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). Here.

Books, presentations, multimedia material, etc.

  • Review of book on nanomaterials and Tissue Engineering. Here. 

Materials news from the Brazilian National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs).

  • Metallic compounds developed in INCT Redoxoma display potential anti-tumor and anti-parasitic action. Here. 

Opportunities.

  • Postdoc in the United States on perovskite or organic semiconductors via Science Without Borders program. Here.

  • Postdoc in multiferroic materials and functional devices in Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Brazil). Here.
  • Postdoc in materials for Photonics in Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Brazil). Here. 

Upcoming events in the area.
  • VI Curso do Método Rietveld de Refinamento de Estrutura. Here.
  • 10º Encontro Brasileiro sobre Adsorção. Here.
  • 9th Ibero-American Conference on Membrane Science and Technology (CITEM 2014). Here.
  • 13th International Conference on Modern Materials and Technologies (CIMTEC 2014). Here.
  • 1st International Conference on Polyol Mediated Synthesis. Here.
  • 13th European Vacuum Conference + 7th European Topical Conference on Hard Coatings + 9th Iberian Vacuum Meeting. Here.
  • 19th International Conference on Ion Beam Modification of Materials. Here.
  • XIII SBPMat Meeting. Here.
  • MM&FGM 2014 – 13th International Symposium on Multiscale, Multifunctional and Functionally Graded Materials. Here.
  • X Brazilian Symposium on Glass and Related Materials (X-BraSGlass). Here.
To suggest news, opportunities, events or reading recommendations items for inclusion in our newsletter, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.
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SBPMat history – interviews with former presidents: Guillermo Solórzano (2001-2003).

Posted on Monday 31 de March de 2014

Ivan Guillermo Solorzano-Naranjo chaired the first board of the Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat), also composed by directors Fernando Lázaro Freire Júnior, José Arana Varela, Roberto Cerrini Villas Bôas, Elisa Maria Baggio Saitovich and Moni Behar.

This founding board was established during the General Assembly for the Constitution of SBPMat, on June 26, 2001, at the auditorium of RioDatacentro at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). They held office until 2003.

Born in Ecuador, Solórzano studied and developed his scientific career in many places all over the world. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Escuela Politecnica Nacional in Quito, Ecuador, Metallurgical Engineering at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and got a degree from PUC-Rio  in Brazil. He held his MSc in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, also at PUC-Rio, and his PhD in Materials Science at McMaster University, in Canada. Developed postdoctoral research at Max-Planck Institute – Sttutgart campus, in Germany, and was a visiting professor at Institut National Polytechnique of Grenoble -France, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University (USA). He is a professor in the Department of Materials Engineering at PUC-Rio.

Along with Edgar Zanotto, he led the foundation of SBPMat. He also acted as president of the Inter American Committee of Societies for Electron Microscopy (CIASEM) and of the Brazilian Society of Microscopy and Microanalysis (SBMM), as well as chairman of the International Committee of the Materials Research Society (MRS). Member of several international executive committees, such as the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy (IFSM), as well as editorial boards of international journals, such as Materials Characterization (Elsevier), Journal of Materials Science (Springer), and Microscopy and Microanalysis (Cambridge University Press).

You can read below an interview with the former president of SBPMat, on the performance of the first board of our society.

1. List the main actions carried out over your time as president of SBPMat.

– Carried out successfully the inaugural congress (First SBPMat Meeting), as well as the II SBPMat meeting, the following year.

– Established a standard format for the annual event – based on symposia and unprecedented in the country –, which remains until now.

– Officially registered SBPMat.

– Arranged that SBPMat joined the International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS).

– From the first meeting on, we gave start to collaboration with Materials Research Society (MRS), from the United States, and with E-MRS, from Europe, which has been growing steadier and stronger over time.

– Established the title of “founding members”, with more than 350 members who have received their certificates. We also started a membership campaign for SBPMat, for both professional and student members, reaching over 600 regular members in the second year. In the third meeting, under the chairmanship of Professor Elson Longo, in Foz do Iguaçu, there was a boom in the number of participants of the SBPMat Meeting, with over a thousand researchers and students.

– At the IUMRS meeting, we postulated SBPMat to host the forecoming International Congress on Advanced Materials (ICAM) in Rio de Janeiro. ICAM 2009 was successfully held in Rio de Janeiro, under my coordination.

– We left the society with funds summing up to about BRL 80,000.

2. List the main challenges you faced while directing SBPMat.

– Consolidating SBPMat was a challenge due to the lack of resources and infrastructure; I could rely only on my “part-time” secretary to help me with communication and administrative tasks as they arose, counting also with the help of my students (one of them made the first SBPMat website). However, it was also a time of great enthusiasm, in which I received full support from the Brazilian research community; we were all very driven to secure this endeavor. The funding agencies, CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, FAPESP, acknowledged the importance of the initiative and lent their support since the first meeting. I have nothing to complain about, and consider it a privilege to have had this experience of founding a national and interdisciplinary scientific society in Brazil…

3. What do you wish you have done, but could not get to it?

One of my proposals that never went beyond the project phase was the formation of executive committees for specific important activities for the consolidation and growth of the society, such as academic affairs committee; relationship with the industry committee; publications committee; international affairs committee; distinctions and awards committee… Each committee should have a director or coordinator (chairman), who would manage it for a certain time, reporting regularly (usually on the occasion of the meeting of SBPMat), and so on. Moreover, with Brazil being such a huge country, it would be necessary to have regional SBPMat sections with boards duly established and regulated by the statutes of SBPMat. The role of such branch offices would be basically to promote the general goals of SBPMat, but in a regional manner, always aligned with the guidelines of the society (through the Board and Council), thus contributing to strengthening its impact over the scientific community and Brazilian society.

All these ideas would grant more flexibility to the society, and also increase the participation of members of our community. It is important to increase the effective participation of members, particularly young people. We have a great generation of young talented people willing to take part, and they should be invited to do so.

4. What would you highlight about the two SBPMat meetings organized and held over your administration?

– The first SBPMat Meeting had the participation of the American and European MRS, and also of the International Union of Materials Societies (IUMRS). All the presidents of these bodies came to the meeting, which had about 400 participants and five symposia, counting with the presence of national authorities. From an international perspective, it had great representation and visibility.

– We established English as the official language in SBPMat Meetings. This has been increasing the participation of researchers from abroad.

– We reinforced the interdisciplinary nature of the society, reflected in the symposia, where each symposium would have co-chairs from different knowledge areas (i.e., Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.), encouraging the presence of colleagues from abroad. We also established an organizing committee involving scientists from the academic sector, research centers and industry. This structure has been working successfully ever since.

– Both the first and second SBPMat meetings had distinguished international scientists as co-chairs of symposia, such as the President of MRS (Alex King, by that time) and the President of E-MRS (Giovanni Marletta, back then).

5. Would you like to leave a message for the readers about the election process in SBPMat? (importance of participating in elections, be it as voters or candidates, and so on)

I find it of importance, to establish and spread a clear process or program for president election at SBPMat, with two excellent candidates with a history of participation in SBPMat, identified by a search committee, to ensure that the community really takes part in the choice, in the election. The same goes for directors. We should not have only a single candidate for president, nor a single candidate group for the directory board, let alone the possibility of reelection, for these elements undermine the participation of the community. Regard the example given by MRS, where the term of office is of one year, with no reelection.

It should be established an election schedule that makes it possible to know the results of the voting for President, Board and Counselors by the occasion of the SBPMat meeting. This way, the participation of the already elected president at the meeting should facilitate the transition to the new board.

SBPMat e-newsletter – year 1 – issue 2

Posted on Friday 28 de February de 2014

 

Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) newsletter

News update from Brazil for the Materials community

 

English edition. Year 1, issue 2.

Greetings, .

SBPMat’s news

XIII SBPMat meeting:

João Pessoa, September 28th, to October 2nd.

  • Abstracts submission deadline: May 23rd. There are 18 symposia this year in which you can submit your papers.
  • Plenary talks: Five lecturers have confirmed presence.
  • Bernhard Gross Award: for best papers presented by students at the simposia (posters and oral presentations).
  • Memorial Lecture Joaquim Costa Ribeiro: Professor José Arana Varela will be honored this year.

Visit the website of the XIII SBPMat Meeting! (English version coming soon)

New SBPMat Board of Directors.

  • There was ceremony to empower the new board of directors and counselors, as well as the first meeting of the team. Learn more.
  • Get to know the new members and their roles. Here.

Featured paper with Brazilian participation
A team of three scientists managed to identify defects of atomic dimensions which exist in thin films of zinc oxide, through an interesting experiment, using the luminescence capability of this material. Initially, they prepared films with various quantities and types of defects and, systematically, they excited the samples, measured luminescence and related these data with the defects that had been introduced. The experiment was conceived and performed by a Brazilian researcher, using photon-scanning tunneling microscopy in Germany. The results have been published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. More.

(To suggest papers with Materials focus with Brazilian participation published in high impact journals for this section of our newsletter contact comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br)

History of Materials research in Brazil
We present the second part of the history of CAPES Materials Area, followed by an interview with Professor Carlos Graeff (coordinator of the area from 2009 to 2014) about the evolution of postgraduate courses in Materials in Brazil, the evaluation criteria of their scientific production and challenges for the next years, among other subjects. Here.

SBPMat’s community people

Interviewed due to Bridge Building Award of American Ceramic Society, Professor José Arana Varela has told us how he got to science of Materials and which are his most important contributions to the area of ceramic materials and his main collaborators. Arana Varela also left a message for our readers who are initiating their career. Here.

Reading recommendations
Science journalism stories based on papers published in journals with high impact factor.

  • Scientists use nanoparticle solutions as adhesive to glue gels and biological tissues (based on paper from Nature) Here.
  • Graphene bread sandwich: new technique to prepare biomolecules for electronic microscopy (based on paper from Advanced Materials) Here.
  • Organic Electronics: fastest polymeric transistor is developed. It is transparent and benzothiophene-based (based on paper from Nature Communications) Here.
  • For the first time, nanomotors travel inside living cells (see texts, images and videos) (based on paper from Angewandte Chemie International) Here.

Books, presentations, multimedia material, etc.

  • Review of  the book “Fundamental Principles of Polymeric Materials” – for beginners in polymers science and technology. Here.

Materials news from the Brazilian National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs).

  • Thermal nanoimprint lithography developed at Namitec with potential application to photovoltaic panels. Here.
  • From the INCT for Nanotechnology Materials: silver tungstate as ozone gas sensor. Here.
  • Very sensitive hydrogen sensor developed in Namitec is ready to be used. Here.

Upcoming events in the area.
  • VI Curso do Método Rietveld de Refinamento de Estrutura. Here.
  • 10º Encontro Brasileiro sobre Adsorção. Here.
  • 13th International Conference on Modern Materials and Technologies (CIMTEC 2014). Here.
  • 1st International Conference on Polyol Mediated Synthesis. Here.
  • 13th European Vacuum Conference + 7th European Topical Conference on Hard Coatings + 9th Iberian Vacuum Meeting. Here.
  • 19th International Conference on Ion Beam Modification of Materials. Here.
  • XIII Encontro da SBPMat. Here.(Soon, English version of the site)
  • X Brazilian Symposium on Glass and Related Materials (X-BraSGlass). Here.
To suggest news, opportunities, events or reading recommendations items for inclusion in our newsletter, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.
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Anniversary of CAPES Materials Area. Part 2.

Posted on Thursday 27 de February de 2014

A little more than four months after the creation of CAPES Materials Area, with Professor Lívio Amaral as pro tempore coordinator, in 12 and 13 of June 2008, the first meeting of postgraduate programs of the new field took place in the headquarters of CAPES, Brasilia. Discussions basically involved the presentation of ten programs already linked to CAPES Materials Area (from UCS, UFC, UFPE, UFRGS, UFRN, UFSC, UNESP – Bauru, UNESP – Ilha Solteira, USP-Lorena and USP São Carlos), meetings with some of the directors from CAPES and the presentation of new programs (from FATEC, FEEVALE, UFMT and UFSCar- Sorocaba). Some programs linked to other areas in CAPES (from UFVSF, UFPR and UFS) have also been invited, to assess a possible change of area. At the end of the event, there was a discussion about creating what they called “the document of the Materials Area”.

This document was finalized in the second meeting of postgraduate programs, which took place in the 5th and 6th of March 2009 at Puc-Rio. At this time, the meeting was summoned by Professor Lívio Amaral, together with SBPMat, presided then by Professor Fernando Lázaro Freire Junior. Discussions included presentation of SBPMat and work teams about the creation of the document.

Professor Carlos Graeff, coordinator of the Materials Area at CAPES, lecturing at USP in November, 2013. Photo supplied by Carlos Graeff.

In April 2009, Professor Lívio Amaral left the coordination of the Materials Area to take over as Evaluation Director at CAPES. Regarding the actions performed during his coordination, which lasted a year and two months, Professor Amaral states that theytake this time to essentially identify the postgraduate programs in the field of Materials; from this, they try to consolidate the Materials Area and include it among the other CAPES areas, in a way that could be understood by the community”. On the other hand, Amaral regrets not being able to stimulate, neither in existing programs nor in new initiatives, “the imperious need to have much more research and human resources formation in Biomaterials”, subarea which, according to the Professor, is still very critical in the country. “All you have to do is go to a MRS meeting, either American or European, and it is easy to observe the increasing research in Biomaterials”, demonstrates Amaral.

On August 12th, 2009, CAPES president, Professor Jorge Guimarães, announced through Normative Regulation 097 that Professor Carlos Frederico de Oliveira Graeff had been assigned to fulfill the role of Materials Area coordinator until 2010, concluding the period of three years started by Lívio Amaral. Graeff still remains the coordinator until June 2014, being assigned for the role for three more years.

——————————

APPENDIX 1: About CAPES Materials Area.

The main tasks of CAPES are: evaluate and promote creating of new postgraduate programs; evaluate existing programs applying grades; evaluate scholarships and other financial support requests for students and teaching staff and for scientific events organization. Besides, CAPES coordinators are the most important interface between academic community and CAPES.

The Materials Area at CAPES is composed by a coordinator and two deputy coordinators. The job of the second deputy coordinator has been recently created, around 2013, to follow up in more detail programs of professional masters. Besides, the Evaluation Direction at CAPES has one or more technicians that help in the coordinators with internal procedures and the interface of CAPES with the community.

Coordinators in the area are chosen by the president at CAPES, after consulting post-graduate programs and technical and scientific societies connected to the area.

——————————

Professor Carlos Graeff, coordinator of the Materials Area at CAPES, lecturing at USP in November, 2013. Photo supplied by Carlos Graeff.

APPENDIX 2: Interview with Professor Carlos Graeff, CAPES Materials Area coordinator from 2009 to 2014.

SBPMat Bulletin: – Could you summarize the quantitative and qualitative evolution of postgraduate courses in Materals in Brazil, since the creation of CAPES Materials Area?

Carlos Graeff: – The area was created in 2008 with the adhesion of 10 programs. We are 29 today, that is, we have increased 290% in 6 years. This is quantitative date, but, most importantly, the area has diversified. It is a multidisciplinary area and with new programs, new frontiers of knowledge have been embraced with interfaces related to biological and medical fields, as well as agriculture, to name a few. Besides, another important feature of this evolution was the expansion of covered areas with postgraduate programs, especially in places with no high level education programs in the field, as the Central-west and Northeast Brazilian regions.

SBPMat Bulletin: – What were the main actions and facts  during your coordination?

Carlos Graeff: – The main mark of our administration was transparency. We had a series of meetings with coordinators and, as the area is still relatively small, we could make a serious of decisions collectively, mostly relating to the evaluation of postgraduate programs. Regarding new courses, we always tried to invite new members, specialists, to the evaluation committees, for a fair examination of requests.  This measure also brought improvement of the existing knowledge concerning CAPES role. A recurring issue is related to unawareness of CAPES work; when bringing a representative number of professors to the assessment processes, there is a tendency to strengthen the relationship between the scientific community and CAPES. I hope that this interview can contribute in that sense.

Besides working in this interface with post-graduate programs, I am a full member of Conselho Técnico-Científico da Educação Superior, where I led the work team with the topic “technical products”. There is an increasing demand for stronger interaction between academic society and society in general, that is, for applied research or technological development. In fact, creating the Materials and Biotechnology Areas at CAPES was basically inspired by this approximation. However, to evaluate programs that work with this interface there is a need for tools that might measure and qualify products such as patents, prototypes, etc. Therefore, it is essential that CAPES successful in assessing intellectual production well (in the case of Materials, basically articles in scientific journals) can be extended to technical production. The discussions have been very productive and we hope that soon they will reflect both on the CAPES evaluation process.

SBPMat Bulletin: – Can you comment on the “Qualis” (CAPES system for evaluation of scientific journals) of Materials Area?

Carlos Graeff: – One of the debates in the area was how to generate a Qualis that would attend multidisciplinary. Qualis is a broadly discussed tool in academic community in general, but especially in more dynamic areas of knowledge, considering its role is one of the most important: to qualify main intellectual products generated by postgraduate programs, scientific papers. The most used method uses impact factor. However, impact factor reflects the size and dynamics of different academic communities. For instance, when we compare average impact factors in Engineering with those of Natural Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology), they are inferior. We do not want to discuss the reasons for this difference which is even more remarkable if, for instance, we enter the realm of humanities. But this difference exists and, therefore, we should take this into consideration in order to avoid distortions in the evaluation process of, for instance, postgraduate research with strong inclination to research in Materials Engineering against Materials Chemistry. Our proposal, therefore, separates journals in big groups: Materials Science, Materials Engineering and correlate areas. By doing this, we try to achieve fairness while comparing papers generated by groups of engineers or physicists that work with Materials. Obviously, our proposal needs some adjustment, but I believe we have taken a step further in this direction.

SBPMat Bulletin: – In your opinion, which are the challenges faced by the area in the next few years?

Carlos Graeff: – Brazil is going through an important time in industry where it suffers with increasingly stronger competition, due to a great opening of our market and the integration with global economy. An important path is the sophistication of our products and processes, and Materials area has a lot to contribute to a stronger and more competitive industry. Nanotechnology is increasingly more emphasized and there are expectations that it might generate a series of new products, which is a fundamental subject of Materials field. Therefore CAPES and SBPMat play an important part in this matter. Actions in this direction are being discussed both at CAPES and SBPMat. Besides great national issues, there is still a lot of room to grow in the area.  There are, for instance, the great and urgent challenges of creating a postgraduate program in the North Brazilian region, the only region with still no offer for Materials courses.

SBPMat Bulletin: – Feel free to add anything else.

Carlos Graeff: – I am honored with the generous invitation from Professor Livio Amaral to conduct the implementation of Materials Area at CAPES. I have learned a lot and I could follow changes that CAPES have been through in the last years, focusing in system improvement. We will soon have significant changes in the assessment process, among them, a new tool to collect and support evaluation called Sucupira Platform. This initiative has been taken with enthusiasm and skillfulness of Professors Amaral and Guimarães. So I would like to end thanking both of them.

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Featured paper: Luminescence measurements to identify defects in zinc oxide thin films.

Posted on Thursday 27 de February de 2014

The scientific paper by members of the Brazilian community in Materials research featured this month is:

Fernando Stavale, Niklas Nilius, and Hans-Joachim Freund. STM Luminescence Spectroscopy of Intrinsic Defects in ZnO(0001̅) Thin Films. J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2013, 4 (22), pp 3972–3976. DOI: 10.1021/jz401823c.

Luminescence measurements to identify defects in zinc oxide thin films.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a very common material in everyday life. It can be found in screws, sunscreen, catalyzer for methanol synthesis and sophisticated optoelectronic devices, such as computer flexible screens, to name just a few. However, in order to enable some promising applications, such as transistors and new devices, it is important to control electrical properties of this semiconductor material, which are related to specific defects in its atomic structure.

Within this context, three scientists from institutions in Germany and Brazil identified specific defects in zinc oxide films through an original approach, taking advantage of luminescence capability (emission of light not resulting from heat) of zinc oxide. Researchers prepared zinc oxide thin films with different types and amounts of specific defects. Systematically, scientists measured luminescence of each film and, thus, they managed to relate peaks on the measurements with various types of defects in crystal nets. The results of this study were published in periodical The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (JPCL).

“In this study, we developed extremely high quality thin films of zinc oxide and we altered the amount of specific defects using thermal desorption, photo-desorption induced by laser and reduction by treatment in hydrogen controlled environment” – says Fernando Stavale, researcher for Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas (CBPF), who signs the article as main author.

Characterization technique

In order to make the experiments, scientists used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in ultra high vacuum with a few peculiarities designed to generate luminescence, collect the emitted photons and obtain the measurements (spectrum) of luminescence. With this configuration, the STM is known as  photon-scanning tunneling microscope. According to Stavale, one of the main scientists in the field of development and application of this technique is Professor Niklas Nilius, correspondent author of the JPCL paper, with whom Stavale has directly worked for three years during his post-doctoral research at  Fritz-Haber Max-Planck Society, in Berlin, specifically at Physico-chemical Department led by Professor Hans-Joachim Freund, last author of the JPCL article. “The photon-scanning tunneling microscope has been employed in unprecedented manner to characterize metallic acids at the department directed by Professor Freund” – says Stavale. “The technique is still underused in Brazil and it is an essential part of the projects I develop with my research team at CBPF, situated in Rio de Janeiro” – he adds.

One of the most important features in photon-scanning tunneling microscopy is the use of electrons which are emitted by the tip of the STM to excite samples and, in the case of zinc oxide, to generate the desired luminescence. This phenomenon of emitting light generated by the impact of electrons over the material is called cathodoluminescence.

Experiment scheme in which the tip of the tunneling microscope can be observed, in the photo, exciting the zinc oxide film. The graph shows a spectrum of the oxide cathodoluminescence. At the back , the tunneling microscopy image of a zinc oxide film, with density of 20 layers (~5 nm) shows monoatomic steps and specific defects in the film’s surface. Vacancies of oxygen and zinc, specific defects, correspond to the areas indicated by arrows. The dark areas with hexagonal shape correspond to the areas where the film is noncontinuous, with depth of up to eight atomic layers.

This systematic work allowed scientists to infer that some peaks of luminescence of zinc oxide are due to defects such as vacancies of oxygen and zinc (dots in the lattice containing “vacancies”, instead of the expected oxygen and zinc atoms). “These specific defects are related to electrical properties often observed in zinc oxide, known as n-type doping” – Stavale adds.

The context of the work

The experiments of the JPCL article were conceived and conducted by Brazilian national Fernando Stavale in 2012, during his last year of post-doctoratal research with the group led by Professor Nilius, at Fritz-Haber of Max-Planck Society. Stavale joined the group in 2010 with financial support from Humboldt Institute in Germany. “For three years we have investigated for the first time the role of several dopants, such as chromium, europium and lithium in zinc and magnesium oxides, combined with ultra-thin films, raised in ultra-high vacuum with tunneling microscopy and local cathodoluminescence” – says Stavale about his post-doctoral studies.

The interpretation of results and the JPCL article redaction were performed in 2013 when Fernando Stavale became a CBPF researcher and Niklas Nilius became a Professor at University of Oldenburg, Germany.

Interview with Professor Jose Arana Varela, honored with the Bridge Building Award from American Ceramic Society.

Posted on Thursday 27 de February de 2014
Professor Arana Varela (to the left) receiving the award. Photo by American Ceramic Society.

On the last January 27th, in Daytona Beach (Florida, United States), during the 38th edition of International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, the Bridge Building Award of the American Ceramic Society was given to a Brazilian for the first time, Professor José AranaVarela, president of our SBPMat from 2010 to 2011. The honor annually distinguishes people from outside the United States who have notably contributed to the field of engineering ceramics.

Graduated in Physics from University of São Paulo in 1968, Arana Varela also has a Master’s Degree in Physics for the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), becoming a Master in 1975. He took his PhD from 1977 to 1981 at University of Washington (United States), conducting research in the field of ceramic materials.

Currently, Arana Varela is Full Professor at Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP) and president-director of the executive board of São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp), as well as member of the council for competitivity and innovation at São Paulo Federation of Industries (FIESP). Professor Arana Varela is also full member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), among other associations, and member of the editorial body for the journals Ceramics International, Science of Sintering, Cerâmica and Materials Research. Besides, he coordinates the innovation division at the Multidisciplinary Center for Development of Ceramic Materials.

His scientific papers gather over 6,500 citations. In the last 13 years, he has been the author of more than 500 articles, published in international journals. Up to this moment, he has advised and co-advised assignments for over 30 masters and over 40 doctoral theses.

Throughout his career, he has received more than 20 awards from organizations such as American Ceramic Society, Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio, CNPq, Associação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais and Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica.

A brief interview with the researcher can be seen below:

SBPMat Bulletin: – Tell us a little bit about your story: which were the opportunities and choices that led you to become a researcher in the field of ceramic materials?

José Arana Varela: – Our choice of being a scientist in mateirals started during the Master’s at ITA, in  1972. During this period (in 1975), I met Professor O. J. Whittemore from the University of Washington, Seattle, during his visit to Universidade Federal de São Carlos for a year. As my master’s research was related to a physico-chemical view of thermal decomposition of talcum, which is a ceramic material, Professor Whittemore became interested in it and made some remarks regarding ceramic processing (his specialty). Thence the invitation for a doctorate in Seattle (from 1977 to 1981).

SBPMat Bulletin: – In your own analysis, which were your main contributions to the science and technology of materials? Specifically, can you comment on your main contributions to the field of engineering ceramics, the focus of Bridge Building Award?

José Arana Varela: — As the main theme of our doctoral theses was related to sintering models, we performed a simple study about variable effects, such as water vapor and heating rate in densification and microstructure of magnesium oxide ceramic. We created a model to take into account the structural rearrangement in sintering process.

Considering the evolution on application of ceramic materials in Microelectronics, due to functionality of these materials, we started the Electroceramic line in the 90’s. The functionality initially chosen was resistivity variation with electrical field (ceramic varistors) due to its application, mostly with lightning rods and electric circuits protectors. After understanding and contributing with varistor’s system based on zinc oxide (ZnO), we proposed to change the system considering another semi-conductor (stannous oxide). In this case, we developed throughout the years a stannous oxide varistor with properties that were much superior to traditional ZnO varistors.

Other contributions are related to development of thin ceramic films with Perovskite structure, with the purpose of optimizing their dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties by using chemical deposition. We have advanced in the knowledge of chemical deposition, which we call polymeric precursors methods. One of the applications of these films are related to the manufacture of ferroelectric memories. With this, our students have worked in characterizing thin films with ferroelectric properties in some systems such as barium titanate, lead zirconate titanate, as well as strontium niobate and tantalate. A patent in ferroelectric memories, licensed to Panasonic, was proposed by a group led by Professor Carlos Paz de Araujo, at University of Colorado.

The latest contribution is related to sensors with nanometric structure, in collaboration with a group led by Professor Harry Tuller at MIT. Recent results were very promising and they showed great sensitivity in nanosensors based on stannous monoxide. It is important to point out that we have recently applied for patent regarding this study.

SBPMat Bulletin: – “Bridge building”, building bridges. Can you share with us a retrospective on the main bridges built throughout your career and the ones you would like to build?

José Arana Varela: — Our bridges have been built from the moment we finished our PhD at University of Washington. I continued to collaborate with Professor Whittemore for decade and I started other partnerships with Professor Gary Messing at Penn State University e then Professor Richard Bradt at University of Alabama.

Concurrently, we had joint projects in Europe with Professor João Baptista at Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal and with Doctor José Fernandez from Institute of Ceramics and Glass in Madrid, related to the subject of Electroceramics. We began to collaborate with groups in Bordeaux, France (Professor Marc Onillon), as well as André Perrin at University of Rennes. The collaborations proceeded with groups led by Professor Paolo Nanni at University of Genoa, concurrently with group led by Professor Danilo Suvorov at Josef Stephan Institute, in Slovenia and Professor Harry Tuller at MIT, in Boston.

SBPMat Bulletin: — Would you like to leave a message for our readers who are developing their academic or industry career as materials researchers?

José Arana Varela: — Science of Materials is fundamental to developing new useful technologies that will resolve society’s greatest problems. Great advancement in knowledge of ceramic materials, mostly their application in production of energy, communication, environmental control, etc., has been increasing in the past 20 years, mainly because of increased collaboration among researchers in different parts of the world. Science of Materials stopped being polarized between the United States and Europe (Germany, England and France) and it relies on contributions from other players in Asia and certainly Brazil. Fundamental knowledge of mass and charge transportation mechanisms, as well as structure of materials in nanometric scale, is essential to new developments and advances in technology.

 

New board of SBPMat directors and members of the council: investiture and first meeting.

Posted on Thursday 27 de February de 2014

On February 14th of this year, at 10 o’clock, the Brazilian Society of Materials Research (SPBMat) had an investiture ceremony for the Seventh Board of directors, for a two-year term beginning in January, 2014. Together with the Board of directors, four new full counselors and a deputy counselor were in role, whose term goes until 2018. The ceremony took place at Golden Park Hotel Viracopos, in the city of Campinas, in Sao Paulo. The new Board of directors and the new counselors were elected by vote at the end of 2013.

New Board of directors on the day of the investiture. From left to right, Rodrigo Bianchi, Marco Cremona, André Pasa, Ieda Garcia dos Santos, Julio Sambrano, Maria Aparecida Zaghete and Roberto Faria (president).

First meeting

The first meeting with the new Board of directors, together with the council occurred on the same day, at 2 p.m.

At the meeting, members of the board and council were appointed to take part in SBPMat’s commitee. For the Events Commitee, Professor Marco Cremona, Professor Iêda Maria Garcia dos Santos and Professor José Alberto Giacometti were assigned; for the SBPMat Bulletin Commitee, Professors Fernando Lázaro Freire Junior, André Avelino Pasa and José Antonio Eiras; and for University Chapters Commitee, Professors Rodrigo Fernando Bianchi, Antonio José Felix de Carvalho, Iêda Maria Garcia dos Santos, Maria Aparecida Zaghete and Waldemar Augusto de Almeida Macedo. As responsible for creating the document “Materials Science Impact” together with Institute of Physics, Professors Roberto Mendonça Faria, Marco Cremona and Julio Ricardo Sambrano were chosen. It is important to highlight that other SBPMat associates besides the initial members can be included.

During the meeting, scientific directors were assigned their duties.

See current members of the Board and Council and learn about our directors and their roles.