Unicamp delegations led by rector Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles were this Wednesday (16) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), in Brasília, to discuss Brazilian participation in DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Facility) — an ambitious international project to identify neutrinos — and to request the body's support in expanding the University's internationalization actions.
The hearings were held with the head of the Science, Technology and Innovation Division, Rafael Leal, and with ambassador Laudemar de Aguiar. “We had very important meetings with the Itamaraty team associated with Science, Technology and Innovation. We request the Ministry's collaboration in obtaining support from Federal Government bodies, Development Institutions, the National Congress and Business Institutions to facilitate Brazilian participation, coordinated by Unicamp, in DUNE”, explained the rector.
“We also expressed our willingness to expand participation in the PEC-G and PEC-PG Programs [Undergraduate and Postgraduate Student Agreement Program], to attract more foreign students to our courses, to attract more professors, researchers and students to stay with our research groups and to strengthen collaboration with foreign institutions in Science, Technology and Innovation, particularly on topics associated with the climate emergency", he added.
According to the rector, this Wednesday's meetings were a kind of starting point for implementing actions. “The welcome from the Itamaraty team was very positive, and we will define some concrete and specific actions, to be taken in the near future, in relation to the issues addressed”, assessed Meirelles.
Neutrino detector
In the morning, the Unicamp delegation met with the head of the Science, Technology and Innovation division at Itamaraty, Rafael Leal. On the occasion, the Ministry's team was presented with Brazil's participation, led by Unicamp, in the LBNF/DUNE project (Long Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Facility), at Fermilab, a research organization linked to the United States Department of Energy. . The objective of the project is to enable the investigation of subatomic phenomena and expand knowledge about neutrinos and their role in the formation of the universe through the construction of a large neutrino detector in Leads, South Dakota, at a depth of 1.400 meters.
The presentation of the project was carried out by professors from the Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics (IFGW) Pascoal Pagliuso, project leader at Unicamp, and Mônica Cotta, director of the unit. According to Pagliuso, the initiative to present the project to the Ministry arose from a visit by the Deputy Consul of Brazil in Chicago, Angélica Ambrosini, to the Fermilab facilities. On that occasion, she learned about the country's participation in the international project and suggested that the research be presented to Itamaraty.
“We presented Brazilian research to members of the Ministry, who were very impressed. This is a unique opportunity for our country to exercise important leadership in a project of these proportions, which will last a long time and bring visibility to Brazilian science”, highlighted the professor.
Unicamp's participation in LBNF/DUNE focuses on the development and scale production of equipment used to purify argon, whose technologies are created in the IFGW laboratories, including the improvement of inputs used for filtering liquid argon, a fundamental input for the detection of neutrinos. Another contribution from Unicamp to the project is the presence of the X-Arapuca in the detector, a device created at the University and responsible for identifying the neutrino by capturing the light emitted from the interaction of the neutrino with the argon in the tanks. The expectation is that 1.500 of these devices will be installed on DUNE.
According to Pagliuso, the Science, Technology and Innovation division will coordinate formal support for the project with federal funding agencies, such as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and Finep.
Government aid
The rector and the executive director of International Relations at the University, professor Osvaldir Taranto, met in the afternoon with the ambassador Laudemar Gonçalves de Aguiar, to discuss a series of topics, such as international missions and participation in networks in which Unicamp is involved. The delegation showed the HIDS (International Hub for Sustainable Development) project being developed at the University and presented actions to promote diversity and inclusion that it has adopted. Teaching advisors Rafael Dias and Alfredo Melo also participated in this meeting.
The group requested government assistance in publishing notices abroad for postgraduate studies, postdoctoral studies and teaching competitions, mainly among Portuguese-speaking countries. Furthermore, he declared the possibility of the University leading development and reconstruction actions in developing countries. Unicamp also offered its expertise in teaching Portuguese to foreigners.
The Unicamp delegation also proposed cooperation to receive students from Unila (University of Latin American Integration) and Unilab (University of Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia), making their academic space available to articulate Latin American and Lusophone integrations. Itamaraty committed to supporting Unicamp as a COP participant (UN Climate Change Conference – Conference of Parties).
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