Scientific dissemination event held in Brasília (DF) with a series of activities to engage young people and children in science. A highlight of the CNPEM booth was Project Orion
Legend: Minister Luciana Santos of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) interacts with CNPEM’s Instagram profile, virtually trying on the protective suit for level 4 biosafety containment labs (Photo credit: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation/Outreach)
During November 5–10 in Brasília (DF), the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) participated in the 21st National Science and Technology Week (SNCT). This year’s topic was “Brazilian biomes: diversity, knowledge and social technologies.”
The event, held alongside the Museu Nacional da República, brought together several centers linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). Among the public figures who attended, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Ministry of Science and Technology Luciana Santos visited CNPEM’s booth. Both participated in an activity involving the Center’s social media where they used virtual reality to “try on” the protective suit used for work in maximum biological containment laboratories.
Besides showcasing Project Orion (a lab complex for advanced pathogen research that will be home to Latin America’s first maximum biosecurity lab and the first in the world connected to synchrotron light source, Sirius), the CNPEM booth showed off a scale model of the Sirius particle accelerator and 3D models of viral structures like the Mayaro virus and the 3CL protein of the virus that causes Covid-19, illustrating the different scientific applications of Sirius.
Materials publicizing the Ilum School of Science, the Summer Scholarships Program (Programa Bolsa de Verão, PBV) and the Sirius School for High School Teachers (Escola Sirius para Professores do Ensino Médio, ESPEM) were also distributed, reinforcing CNPEM’s commitment to popularizing science and training human resources.
Legend: Visitors at the CNPEM booth (Photo credit: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation/Outreach)
The Science and Technology Week event involved various activities to promote engagement among young people and adolescents, strengthening Brazil’s scientific culture. Along with the exhibits, the event also included activities from the National Program to Popularize Science (Pop Ciência) to stimulate the connection between science and society.
Project Orion
Project Orion will be a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research, and will include Latin America’s first maximum biological containment level facilities (BSL-4), the only labs of this kind in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius. Currently under construction in the city of Campinas, São Paulo on the CNPEM campus, this project will combine analytic techniques and advanced competencies in bioimaging which will be open to the scientific community and public agencies. By permitting advances in knowledge on pathogens and related diseases, Orion will support health surveillance activities and policies, as well as the development of diagnostic methods, vaccines, treatments, and epidemiological strategies. Orion will support national sovereignty in facing health crises, and has the potential to benefit various areas such as health, science and technology, defense, and the environment.
The implementation of Project Orion is overseen by the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization linked to MCTI. The project is part of the federal government’s New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and funded with resources from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT) and MCTI, with support from the Ministry of Health (MS). The New PAC also involves carrying out the second phase of Project Sirius with an investment of approximately R$ 800 million, which will include constructing ten new research stations and optimization of the facilities.
The Orion initiative is part of the federal government’s New Industry Brazil (NIB) stimulus policy and will serve as an instrument of national sovereignty, competence, and security in the fields of science and technology for research, defense, and human, animal, and environmental health. Orion was also planned to strengthen the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (CEIS), an initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Health and intended to meet priority demands from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS).
