National initiative encourages female public school students and teachers in STEM, and recognizes instructor and teacher participating in CNPEM advising program
The Future Scientists program created by CETENE in 2012 promotes inclusion of female public school students and teachers in the universe of science and technology. The program was recently expanded nationwide and offers theoretical and hands-on activities in areas like biotechnology and nanotechnology to encourage female representation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). In the 2024 edition of the Future Scientists Prize, Ingrid Barcelos was recognized as the instructor representing the Southeast region for her role in the 2023 Scientific Immersion module at CNPEM. Her project entitled Looking beyond what the eyes can see! was approved and carried out in accordance with the CETENE 03/2023 call for projects, and offered an investigative and hands-on introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology for high school girls while addressing various topics ranging from the scientific instrumentation needed to produce and handle materials to understanding why technology is necessary to look beyond what the naked eye can see.
Ingrid Barcelos has bachelor’s, master’s, teaching and doctorate degrees in physics from UFMG and a post-doctorate in optics. She is a researcher at LNLS at CNPEM, and heads the Microscopic Sample Laboratory (LAM), which is dedicated to advanced sample preparation. In 2021 she also received the “For Women in
Science” award from L’Oréal, UNESCO and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences for excellence in research.
Another winner of the 2024 CAPES Future Scientists Prize was Larissa de Fatima Pastre Tirolla, a teacher at the Professor Aggêo Pereira do Amaral State School in Sorocaba, São Paulo who carried out a project under the guidance of Paola Ferraz and Julia Carvalho of the Scientific Computation Group at Sirius. Pastre developed a working plan entitled Applied and computational mathematics in analyzing infrared spectroscopy data, and used the Imbuia beamline to analyze standard samples of ethanol for numeric solution. “It was great to advise a physics teacher who already understood the content. She was really interested and it was an excellent experience to develop the project with her,” said Paola Ferraz.
The Future Scientists program strengthens science and education by fostering the inclusion of girls and women in science and technology. This initiative identifies and supports young talent, stirring interest in research and innovation as well as stimulating creative and scientific habits. By promoting research and expanding female participation in this sector, the program helps make the scientific environment more diverse and innovative.
