In partnership with ANDIFES and COPROPI, the program selected 28 researchers from 15 states across Brazil
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), in collaboration with the National Association for Leaders of Federal Higher Education Institutions (ANDIFES) and the College of Provosts for Research, Graduate Study and Innovation in Federal Higher Education Institutions (COPROPI), signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, December 9 to formalize the CNPEM Ambassadors Program.

Representatives from ANDIFES, CNPEM and COPROPI signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the start of the Ambassadors Program. Left to right: COPROPI coordinator Pedro Carelli, CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva, ANDIFES President José Daniel Diniz (Outreach/CNPEM)
The initiative, which was introduced in September 2024, is intended to call more attention to opportunities to interact with CNPEM, including access to open facilities and participation in scientific training events. The main goal of the program is to broaden CNPEM’s reach across the country, helping to strengthen the National Science and Technology System.
“We hope to have proactive participation by the ambassadors in their institutions so we can understand specific regional needs. How can we support research projects in the North and Northeast of the country so they can access our open facilities? Are there specific demands in certain knowledge areas? The ambassadors will play a central role in constructing this diagnostic and proposing activities that can help advance knowledge in the country,” noted CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva.
For this first edition of the program, ambassadors were selected from 28 federal universities in 15 states in Brazil’s North and Northeast regions. With support from CNPEM, COPROPI and ANDIFES, these researchers will serve as agents for knowledge exchange, promoting activities that bring CNPEM closer to academic communities and expanding the impact of scientific and technological initiatives in Brazil.

Collaborators from CNPEM and partnering institutions after signing the document to launch the CNPEM Ambassadors Program. The 28 ambassadors selected in this edition participated in the ceremony online (Outreach/CNPEM)
“To me, this is one of the pillars of this project: making it possible to strengthen research in regions that participate less in scientific activity. When we think about development of knowledge in a country, we need to optimize these [scientific] structures and ensure that they have this importance and serve the country as a whole,” noted José Daniel Diniz, President of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and ANDIFES. “It is a way to make sure information arrives, not only about what can be done at CNPEM but also to facilitate contact, something that researchers occasionally feel very far from,” he added.
Pedro Carelli, Provost for Research and Innovation at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and coordinator of COPROPI, noted that the first edition of the Ambassadors Program specifically prioritizes the North and Northeast, which “so far have had less participation in CNPEM’s scientific activities,” adding that it is “a historic program to accelerate skills in Brazilian research.” The plan, according to Carelli, is to “refine the format in order to expand into other regions in the future. The program will be fine-tuned on an ongoing basis,” he added.
The researchers selected as ambassadors will participate in regular meetings throughout 2025, including an in-person meeting in Campinas, SP, with expenses paid by CNPEM. The ambassadors will be responsible for fostering and establishing channels of communication for questions and suggestions between their institutions and CNPEM’s User Program, and also promoting outreach activities related to the facilities available at CNPEM.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. It is responsible for operating the Brazilian Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), and Biorenewables (LNBR) National Laboratories, as well as the Ilum School of Science, which offers a bachelor’s degree program in science and technology with support from the Ministry of Education (MEC).