The current expansion of the Chemistry Institute (IQ) of Unesp in Araraquara and its growing participation in important scientific projects, are directly related to the reforms carried out through FAPESP's Infrastructure Program. “The Infra Program is in all of the institution”, says professor Elizabeth Berwerth Stucci, director of the IQ. The resources financed reforms of the electrical and hydraulic networks, and of the safety systems. “The improvement in the quality of our research has permitted us to request our participation in the Cepid, along with the Multidisciplinary Center for the Development of Ceramic Materials of UFSCar. And to house it, the university is already building a third building”, explains Elizabeth.
The modernization of the laboratories made possible the participation of the researchers in the project of the sequencing of theXanthomona Genome and of the Biota-FAPESP Program. The new structure also made possible the participation of the IQ in the CT-Petro, a national program managed by the Financier of Studies and Projects (Finep) that is investigating new methodologies of analysis of the quality of fuels, and even maintains a Monitoring and Research Center into Fuel Quality, in an agreement with the Fundunesp (Foundation for the Development of São Paulo State University-Unesp) and the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) for the monitoring of 1,340 gas stations in the state.
In the Photonics Materials Laboratory, the program has created conditions for the installation of an extension tower of optical fibers of the company Telebrás, unique in Latin America. With this it was possible to close an agreement with Ericsson for the development of new optical fibers. Also at the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, the improved working conditions widened the interaction with city administrations for the control and monitoring of garbage recycling plants, and with companies such as Embraer, for the accompaniment and evaluation of the natural water springs in the area of the installation of a new factory in the town of Gavião Peixoto.
For José Arana Varela, of the Synthetic Ceramic Processing Laboratory and of the Multidisciplinary Center for the Development of Ceramic Materials, one of the Cepids (Centers of Research, Innovation and Diffusion) maintained by FAPESP, the Infra Program significantly contributed to the development of basic research. “The construction of a clean room with a good exhaust system, air conditioning and flow of filtered air, allowed us to amplify research with fine films and the study of nano-materials”, he says. “The new working conditions gave a kick-start to cutting edge research and is going to make possible the improvement in the service to the needs of sizeable companies such as the National Steel Company (CSN) and White Martins”, concludes Varela.
Glass blowing Unit
Unesp's glass blowing unit, the only one in the region, also received financial assistance for reforms in its exhaust system, of vital importance in this activity. “Our glass blowing unit works with silica and blowpipes at high temperatures, and we're very close to the silica particles that can cause health problems”, explains Antônio Eduardo Mauro, the coordinator. Another improvement brought on by the reform was the construction of a fume cupboard, an annex to the workshop, for the use of engraving on glass that requires the manipulation of toxic solvents.
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