The Unicamp Highlight Thesis Award, held this Thursday morning, 25, consecrated four doctoral works defended at the University in 2022, covering the following areas: Biological and Health Sciences; Engineering and Technology; Exact and Earth Sciences; Human Sciences and Arts. Led by the dean, Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, and by the postgraduate dean, Rachel Meneguello, the ceremony awarded researchers Monica Caicedo Roa, Ana Valeria Braga, Selena Lage and Marcus Vinícius Soares, in addition to their supervisors, respectively professors Ricardo Cordeiro, Flavio Schmidt, Sidney Bernardini and Giorgio Basilici. The theses that were in second place, in each area, received honorable mention.
The Unicamp Highlight Thesis Award was created by the Central Postgraduate Commission (CCPG) with the aim of recognizing the excellence of scientific research produced by Unicamp postgraduate students and professors. “The weight of graduate studies for Unicamp, in Brazil and abroad, is impressive; either by volume or by quality. It is a performance that is rarely seen in the world, especially when one takes into account the diversity of topics covered”, evaluates the dean.
For Meneguello, the initiative is a way of giving prestige, internally, to a production that is already widely recognized worldwide. “Recently, more than 85% of our postgraduate programs scored 5 or more, in the Capes evaluation”, she observes. In its first edition, the award highlights projects that were developed in the midst of the difficulties imposed by the isolation imposed by the covid-19 pandemic, recalls the dean.
In total, 142 theses were submitted. Of these, 49 were pre-selected by evaluation committees assembled by the Dean of Postgraduate Studies. Subsequently, the committee of each area chose two papers.
Author of “Study of Induced Anaerobic Fermentation in Coffee” — awarded thesis in the Engineering and Technological area —, Ana Valéria Braga believes that this recognition is proof that the result of her work was not compromised by the quarantine. “I am receiving the award, but it is the result of the collaboration of several people, from the farms, companies and laboratories of the Institute of Biology and the Faculty of Food Engineering, in addition to my advisor”, she says. Funded by the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp) and by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), his research presents a new way of processing coffee, which can result in increased quality and, consequently, the score grain, making it more competitive. “It is an innovative work, which was very well conducted. The award comes to crown”, celebrates the advisor.
In addition to the first placed, mentioned above, the four who were in second place and received honorable mention were: Priscila Orlandini (and her advisors, professors Vinícius Souza and Inês Cordeiro); Armando Hernandez (and his advisor, Professor Julio Hernandez); Maiara Dourado (and her advisor, Professor Nashieli Loera); and Artur Alves (and his advisor, Professor Marcus Bonança).
Watch the ceremony broadcast by Canal Imprensa Unicamp:
