{"id":227057,"date":"2016-11-22T18:15:06","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T20:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/?p=227057"},"modified":"2024-06-05T16:28:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T19:28:46","slug":"recognizing-the-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/recognizing-the-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Recognizing the researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An

FERNANDO FRAZ\u00c3O \/ AG\u00caNCIA BRASIL <\/span>An exhibition celebrating the centenary of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences at the Museum of Tomorrow, in Rio de JaneiroFERNANDO FRAZ\u00c3O \/ AG\u00caNCIA BRASIL <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

On May 3, 1916, on the grounds of the Rio de Janeiro Polytechnic School, a group of researchers founded the Brazilian Society of the Sciences to promote scientific culture and basic research. Henrique Morize (1860-1930) led the initiative, backed by intellectuals and researchers in geology, archeology, mathematics and other fields. Born in France, Morize (a professional geographer, engineer and astronomer) became a Brazilian citizen and directed the National Observatory for 20 years. In the tradition of scientific academies in countries such as France and the United States, the society changed its name to the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) in 1921, celebrating its centennial anniversary last month.\u00a0 At the National Congress in Brasilia, an exhibition highlighting the main scientific discoveries of the last 100 years was organized. At the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, a display comprising interactive panels narrates the institution\u2019s history and features 18 Brazilian scientists from a number of fields, including physicist C\u00e9sar Lattes and \u00a0geographer Bertha Becker.<\/p>\n

In the early years, the institution dedicated its efforts to organizing conferences and hosting illustrious scientists.\u00a0 In 1925, for example, Albert Einstein was in Brazil to participate in a meeting of ABC members in Rio. A year later, the academy hosted Polish scientist Marie Curie, recipient of two Nobel prizes and its first female laureate. Both Einstein and Curie became ABC correspondents.<\/p>\n

\"In

AUGUSTO MALTA \/ MIS RJ COLLECTION <\/span><\/a> In 1924, the Brazilian government offered the Czechoslovakian pavilion in Rio to the ABC to serve as its headquartersAUGUSTO MALTA \/ MIS RJ COLLECTION <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cUnlike the experience of other countries, Brazil developed its research potential only later, towards the end of the 19th<\/sup> century. There wasn\u2019t much appreciation for science or justification for investing in it,\u201d explains Shozo Motoyama, a historian at USP\u2019s Interunit Center of Science History.\u00a0 \u201cFrom the time of its origin, one of ABC\u2019s main objectives was to fight for the institutionalization of Brazilian science through the spreading of knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the 1920s on, ABC dedicated itself to supporting science-education initiatives.\u00a0 One of its first activities was its 1923 participation in establishing R\u00e1dio Sociedade (today\u2019s R\u00e1dio MEC), Brazil\u2019s first radio broadcasting station.\u00a0 Physician, anthropologist, writer and then-member of the academy, Edgar Roquette-Pinto, who was also one of the pioneers of radio broadcasting, convinced ABC to purchase the equipment needed to set up a radio station in Rio. The station would have an educational objective, broadcasting literature, science and classical music programs. According to Motoyama, \u201cABC\u2019s founders argued that for the country to develop\u2014even economically\u2014scientific culture would have to be communicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a

ABC\u2002COLLECTION<\/span><\/a> A 1934 decree signed by President Get\u00falio Vargas recognizes the academy as a public trust institutionABC\u2002COLLECTION<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Motoyama goes on to explain that the original purpose of the institution, unlike that of similar academies around the world, did not entail providing scientific advisory services to the government. The French Acad\u00e9mie des Sciences, for example, was founded in 1666 by Louis XIV to support scientific research. In the United States, the National Academy of Sciences was created thanks to a law enacted by Congress and signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. \u201cIn these cases, the governments had already recognized the importance of science. In Brazil, ABC was a professional initiative by scientists themselves seeking recognition,\u201d explains physicist and science historian Olival Freire Junior, professor at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).<\/p>\n

In 1924, ABC took part in the founding of the Brazilian Association for Education (ABE), which greatly influenced establishment of the Ministry of Education and Health, in 1930. It was then that ABC began to take on a political character. In the years that followed, the institution led the movement that, in 1951, called for the creation of the National Research Council, known today as the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The proposal for establishing the council was put forward by an ABC commission presided over by Admiral \u00c1lvaro Alberto da Motta e Silva, an engineer and graduate of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Polytechnic School who conducted research into chemical explosives. Motta e Silva served two stints at the head of ABC: from 1935 to 1937 and from 1949 to 1951, before leaving the institution to become president of the recently established CNPq.<\/p>\n

\"Henrique

ABC COLLECTION <\/span><\/a> Henrique Morize, first president of the ABCABC COLLECTION <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Also in 1951, some months later, ABC members participated in the founding of the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Capes). A short time before, in 1948, the academy had backed the establishment of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC). In keeping with its objective of representing the country\u2019s diverse scientific organizations, SBPC began its collaboration with ABC in support of the interests of the scientific community.<\/p>\n

The task of advising federal government organizations on scientific matters came to the fore in the 1970s, during the period of military rule. At that time, the federal government developed its first and second Basic Plan for Scientific and Technological Development and recognized ABC\u2019s central role in the country\u2019s system of science and technology. \u201cThe academy began to issue expert reports and conduct\u00a0 studies on behalf of the government.\u00a0 Payments from the government contributed to ABC\u2019s maintenance,\u201d says Eduardo Moacyr Krieger, FAPESP vice-president and ABC president from 1993 to 2007. Under his management, Krieger introduced a new dynamism to this mission by creating working groups for the development of studies and symposiums. The results of these efforts were published in book form, which consolidated knowledge surrounding key issues and helped administrators and officials to aide public policy.<\/p>\n

\"In

ROQUETTE-PINTO COLLECTION\/ABL <\/span><\/a> In 1923, ABC directors participate in the creation of R\u00e1dio Sociedade, which operated on the grounds of the academyROQUETTE-PINTO COLLECTION\/ABL <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

In 2004, for example, ABC presented the federal government with proposals for reforming higher education. One of these proposals sought to introduce an interdisciplinary curriculum to help set up new federal universities. In 2010, another document addressed the issue of water in an analysis of the functioning and management of Brazil\u2019s water resources systems. In the energy sector, experts associated with ABC developed a diagnostic method for biofuels demonstrating that sugarcane derived ethanol production was not harmful to world food security. Published in 2014, the latest study looks at translational medicine, which seeks to accelerate the interaction between laboratory and clinical research.<\/p>\n

Today, ABC has a membership of 960 academics, of which 535 are\u00a0\u00a0 full members, 198 foreign corresponding members, and 58 associates. Another 167 are young scientists who hold five-year membership to the academy. Two more are collaborative members. The majority of these members are active in biomedical research, physics, mathematics, and chemistry. According to new ABC President Luiz Davidovich, professor at the Physics Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IF-UFRJ), the institution intends to broaden its engagement with society. \u201cWe will invest,\u201d says Davidovich, \u201cin science communication initiatives that can make ABC better known. We want to increase our presence on the Internet and in social networks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Physicist

MAST COLLECTION<\/span><\/a> Physicist Albert Einstein meets with ABC members while touring the National Observatory, in 1925MAST COLLECTION<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

To Shozo Motoyama, ABC could increase its efforts to disseminate scientific information. \u201cIn general, ABC remains a great unknown to Brazilians. In the U.S., the National Academy of Sciences has a museum, the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., that is open to the public, with exhibits showing how science relates to everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mathematician Jacob Palis, a full professor at the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) and ABC president from 2007 to 2016, recalls another of the academy\u2019s challenges. In a ceremonial speech during the centenary celebration at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio, Palis mentioned the role of women in the sciences, and the institution\u2019s priority in emphasizing this role. \u201cWe would like to find women to elect into the academy. Women should have a greater presence. Currently, ABC\u2019s membership comprises 826 men and only 134 women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brazilian Academy of Sciences celebrates its centennial anniversary ","protected":false},"author":421,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[226,241],"coauthors":[740],"class_list":["post-227057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retrospect","tag-education","tag-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/421"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227057"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":518833,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227057\/revisions\/518833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227057"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=227057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}