The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) reopened its doors to the community for an event last weekend on June 17, 2023. The fifth edition of Ciência Aberta [Open Science] welcomed 16,000 visitors throughout the day.
The event was free, but visitors were invited to donate a kilogram of non-perishable food; at the end of the day a total of 5.4 tons had been collected, double the amount donated during the last edition of this event. This food was passed on to social assistance organizations in the Campinas region.
Students, groups of retirees, families, and children of all ages had the opportunity to get an inside look at Sirius, the state-of-the-art particle accelerator built at the CNPEM which is used like an enormous microscope. It was designed to produce a very special type of radiation known as synchrotron light, which is very useful in scientific investigations of the composition and structure of inorganic and organic materials at the atomic and molecular scales and permits special conditions and resolution that conventional microscopes cannot provide. Since it began operating in 2019, Sirius has allowed researchers from across Brazil and abroad to seek answers to questions in areas including health, energy, renewable materials, agriculture, and food production.
The visitors were received by over 800 volunteers, all staff, interns, and scholarship recipients at the CNPEM who planned more than 80 activities to answer questions, translate scientific concepts, reproduce experiments, and awaken curiosity in all areas of science.
Visitors were able to see the exhibit stands, participate in workshops and lectures, and enjoy informal conversations with researchers in the common areas and food courts on the CNPEM campus.
The 2023 edition of Ciência Aberta was sponsored by Afonso França Engenharia, Racional Engenharia, and the SABIS International School. Photos and videos of Ciência Aberta 2023 will be posted on the CNPEM’s social media channels (@cnpem) over the coming days.
About the CNPEM
With a sophisticated and vibrant environment for research and development that is the only one of its kind in Brazil and found in only a few scientific centers in the world, the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is a private, non-profit organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The Center operates four national laboratories and is home to Sirius, the most complex project in Brazilian science and one of the world’s most advanced synchrotron light sources. The CNPEM is home to highly specialized multi-thematic teams, globally competitive lab infrastructure that is open to the scientific community, strategic lines of research, innovative projects in partnerships with the productive sector, and training for researchers and students. The Center is an environment driven by research into solutions that impact the areas of health, energy and renewable materials, agri-environmental, and quantum technologies. Through the CNPEM 360 Platform (https://pages.cnpem.br/cnpem360/), users can explore spaces via immersive virtual visits to all the laboratories in Campinas (SP) as well as obtain information about the work conducted there and resources available to the scientific and business communities. In 2022, with support from the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC), the CNPEM expanded its activities with the opening of the Ilum School of Science. This interdisciplinary undergraduate program in science, technology, and innovation implements innovative ideas to provide a high-quality free and full-time undergraduate program immersed in the research environment at the CNPEM.
