Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center passed away on Sunday, December 1
On Sunday, December 1, 2024, at the age of 93, Professor Dr. Rogério Cezar de Cerqueira Leite, Honorary President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), passed away. He was a pivotal figure in advancing science, technology, and innovation in Brazil.
In the early 1980s, Professor Cerqueira Leite played a decisive role in enabling the project and construction of the first synchrotron light source in the Southern Hemisphere, which would later become the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) and the foundation of CNPEM.
By championing and influencing the development of this synchrotron light source, Professor Cerqueira Leite envisioned more than just a major research facility for Brazil.
Appointed to chair the Board of Directors at the outset, his guidance focused on strengthening Brazil’s scientific capacity, training personnel, and pursuing innovative, cost-effective, and impactful solutions in partnership with the industry and national research institutions.
Professor Rogério led strategies and decisions that addressed technical, scientific, and management challenges unprecedented in Brazil, integral to ambitious projects.
He firmly believed in Brazil’s capability to design and construct competitive scientific equipment, despite skepticism from parts of the academic community and ongoing economic and political crises. Sirius, Brazil’s new electron accelerator and the most complex scientific project in the country, in many ways embodies his convictions.
Beyond accelerator physics and engineering, Professor Cerqueira Leite supported the creation of other national laboratories within CNPEM, fostering advancements in biosciences, nanotechnology, and bio-renewables. He also conceived Ilum – CNPEM’s School of Science, offering an innovative, interdisciplinary undergraduate program in Science and Technology.
The passing of Professor Rogério Cezar de Cerqueira Leite is deeply mourned by all at CNPEM and, undoubtedly, by advocates of science, technology, and innovation throughout Brazil.
In a 2022 interview with the Museu da Pessoa, Professor Rogério affirmed:
“[…] old people like to talk about the past because they have no future, but I always look to the future. Despite having lived a fulfilling life, I work for the future.”
“With respect and reverence for Cerqueira Leite’s legacy, CNPEM reaffirms its commitment to being at the forefront of scientific and technological development and hopes all its collaborators remain inspired by the boldness so characteristic of Prof. Rogério,” remarked CNPEM’s Director-General, Antonio José Roque da Silva, with sorrow.
Career
Graduating in Electronic Engineering and Computing from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) in 1958 and earning a doctorate in Solid-State Physics from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) in 1962, Cerqueira Leite worked as a researcher at Bell Laboratories in the U.S. from 1962 to 1970.
He taught at ITA, the University of Paris, and UNICAMP, where he directed the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Arts in the 1970s. UNICAMP later awarded him the title of Professor Emeritus.
He was honored with the French National Order of Merit and held a chair at the University of Montreal, Canada.
Professor Cerqueira Leite was a Distinguished Researcher at CNPq and a recipient of the National Order of Scientific Merit in the Grand Cross category. He published 80 papers in specialized journals, served as editor of Solid State Communications from 1974 to 1988, and was a reviewer for about 20 international journals, amassing approximately 3,000 citations.
He founded and presided over institutions such as CODETEC and CIATEC and contributed to establishing high-tech companies like PST Eletrônica S.A., ASGA, and Softex 2000 Campinas.
As a member of the editorial board of Folha de São Paulo since 1978, he wrote extensively on technical topics and authored books on controversial subjects, including multinational corporations, the nuclear program, nationalism, higher education, and technology transfer. His publications also covered solid-state physics, music, natural resources (quartz, niobium, ethanol), and energy.
Professor Cerqueira Leite was a member of the Energy Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and served on numerous councils of scientific organizations, including SBPC, FAPESP, and Fundação Padre Anchieta. He also advised private organizations and state agencies, such as FINEP.
He received the “TWAS Regional Prize for Building Scientific Institutions,” was named Personality of the Year in Innovation, Science, and Technology by UNA Brazil, and received a tribute from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI) for his significant contributions to science policy and institutions.
An ardent supporter of the arts, Professor Cerqueira Leite built and maintained a vast collection of artistic items from China, Japan, India, Africa, Syria, Oceania, and Pre-Columbian America. He believed that humanistic education should be intrinsic to scientific training, fostering more progressive and humanistic ideas.
Learn More About Prof. Rogério:
- Museu da Pessoa – “One Foot in the Past, Another in the Future”
Watch here - Centro de Memória FAPESP – Interview with Prof. Rogério Cezar de Cerqueira Leite
Read here
