Chemistry International Vol. 21, No. 6, November 1999 1999, Vol. 21 No. 6 (November) .. 40th Council Highlights .. IUPAC: 2000 and Beyond .. 37th IUPAC Congress .. Chemistry in Today's Brazil .. News from IUPAC:    Biodegradation of    Chemical Warfare    Agents .. Other Societies .. New Books and Publications .. Provisional Recommendations .. Awards .. Conference Announcements .. Conferences Download the November issue in pdf format. (627K) Download the November cover in pdf format. (117K) CI Homepage

Chemistry International Vol. 21, No. 6 November 1999 Chemistry in Today's Brazil Professor Carlos A. L. Filgueiras (Departamento de Química Inorganica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68563, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; E-mail: [email protected]), a National Representative for IUPAC's Commission on Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (II.2), prepared this article. It is an English translation, edited slightly for a non-Brazilian audience, of a Portuguese version that appeared in the January/February issue of Química Nova. We thank Professor Carol H. Collins (Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, C.P. 6154, 13803-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil), Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Chemistry Committee (BCC), which represents Brazil in IUPAC, for helping to facilitate publication of this contribution. Summary Chemistry in Colonial Brazil Beginnings of Modern Chemistry in Brazil Postwar Development of Chemistry in Brazil Growth of Research and Graduate Programs Chemical Industry in Today's Brazil Educational and Research Assessments Role of Brazilian Scientific Societies Chemistry in Brazil's Latin American Neighbors Overcoming Obstacles to Chemistry in Today's Brazil Future of Chemistry in Brazil Educational and Research Assessments CAPES and CNPq launched monitoring and assessment programs in the 1970s to gauge how the activities under their responsibility were faring, with the objective to assess and correct, where necessary, the educational and funding policies. CAPES, which is the agency in charge of graduate programs in the Education Ministry, was the more successful of the two. Its assessment of graduate education was based from the start on the principle of peer review, i.e., visits by committees of specialists and analysis of all aspects concerning graduate studies, including physical facilities, libraries, equipment and supplies, qualifications and performance of teaching staffs and students, etc. This system is still in use and enjoys great credibility in the academic community. Similar assessments of research projects by CNPq were not as successful, even though they were based on the same peer review principle used by CAPES. The quality, appropriateness, and impact of research efforts are particularly difficult to assess. Perhaps more important, there was a relative unwillingness to formulate and demand clear research guidelines on the part of university departments and research institutes. Research assessment remains an important, albeit difficult, problem that will soon have to be solved adequately, in view of the mounting complexities of funding and carrying out research nowadays. Role of Brazilian Scientific Societies It is important to note the extraordinary role played by the scientific societies. The Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ), founded in 1977, has become the country's largest scientific organization, with some 4 000 paying members and a very strong presence in Brazil. SBQ's most important activities are the several regular conferences it organizes and its four publications. Conferences held by SBQ include the large annual meeting, held during the last week of May, with an average attendance of 2 000 people from the whole country and several foreign countries; thematic conferences (inorganic chemistry, organic syntheses, NMR, electrochemistry, etc.); and regional meetings, held in distinct places throughout the country. SBQ publications include the Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (in English), Química Nova (in Portuguese and English), Química Nova na Escola (in Portuguese), and the Boletim da SBQ (in Portuguese). The Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (JBCS) is a research-only journal; Química Nova (QN) publishes research together with technical notes, chemical education material, history of chemistry, etc; Química Nova na Escola (QN na Escola) is a journal for high school teachers of chemistry; finally, the Boletim, which appears electronically, conveys information about the Society, the chemical profession, political and social implications of science, etc. JBCS and QN are indexed in Chemical Abstracts. QN and the Boletim are sent to all members of the society, whereas the other two publications are sold by subscription. Other scientific societies that deal with chemistry and related topics include the Brazilian Association for Chemistry (ABQ), the Brazilian Association for Chemical Engineering (ABEQ), the Brazilian Association for Polymer Science (ABPol), and the Brazilian Association for the Chemical Industry (ABQuim). Each of these associations has an annual meeting and publishes either a bulletin or a journal, or both, in Portuguese. Together with the SBQ, these associations make up the Brazilian Chemistry Committee (BCC), which represents Brazil in IUPAC. Chemistry in Brazil's Latin American Neighbors Another way to look at what has happened in Brazil in these recent decades is to compare how science was introduced and developed in Brazil's Latin American neighbors. Brazil entered the 19th century in a state of absolute inferiority. Several countries on the continent possessed venerable and distinguished universities, some dating from the first century of Spanish colonization. Mexico, for instance, pursued chemistry vigorously in the 18th century, and the Mexican discovery of vanadium is an important contribution of that early period. Brazil, on the contrary, had scant scientific tradition and, during the colonial period, was never allowed by Portugal to have either universities or printing presses. This situation only began to improve after 1808, with the arrival of the Portuguese court in Rio de Janeiro. Although several schools of higher education in medicine, law, and engineering were founded and prospered during the 19th century, they did not begin to merge into true universities until 1920. This historical perspective helps one to appreciate the immense obstacles that had to be overcome to catalyze the process that began after 1945. Overcoming Obstacles to Chemistry in Today's Brazil Of course, several problems persisted and, in recent times, many others have surfaced. There are currently no bold directives or plans for continuing the developments of the previous decades. Past plans had merits as well as flaws, and were liable to criticism; however, these plans were backed by a national will to pursue science and technology and to further the well being of the nation. Many concrete actions were put into practice and led to significant growth, both on a quantitative and on a qualitative basis. Today what is needed is to go further, with the necessary corrections demanded by new times and situations. However, there is an almost total vacuum of firm policies or actions regarding the support of science. CNPq no longer functions as a leader of national science policy. The lack of continuing and steady support has been almost constant in the present decade, particularly in the last few years. The traditional federal funding sources for science have shrunk, and the resources available to researchers are not sufficient enough to maintain current projects, let alone to provide for the growing demand from new researchers. Project evaluation by the agencies tends more and more to become a game of musical chairs, with a minute number of seats and a large standing crowd. The shrinking of the federal funding agencies took place without their replacement by any other funding scheme of similar magnitude. Several of the Brazilian states have their own agencies for funding research, but with the exception of the Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo (Fapesp), they do not have the resources to cope with the demand in their respective states. If the present situation persists much longer, science establishments may become obsolete throughout Brazil, except in São Paulo. This setback would increase the asymmetry already present in the country to the point of being extremely harmful to the very nature of the federation of Brazilian states. The constant chorus of scientists, educators, scientific societies, universities, and research institutes denouncing the present state of things and urging change has only met with deaf ears within the present national and state government administrations. The danger inherent in this asymmetry might affect the state of São Paulo, which will be under intense pressure from at least part of the science community in the rest of the country, leading to an uneasy situation. The catchword to justify the present state of things is "market". It seems that nothing can be done in the country if it is not geared to the immediate needs of the market. In the educational and scientific fields, this shortsightedness can lead to an irreparable disaster. For example, universities are institutions that must be at the forefront of society; in addition to performing services strictly tuned to the market, such as the education of future professionals, they must also perform a number of other functions. Good universities must go beyond their time or contingencies; not only must they transmit knowledge in an efficient manner and prepare professionals of the highest quality, but they must create new knowledge by means of original research. If universities do not maintain their leadership in society, they will become moribund. It would not have been possible for educational institutions in Brazil to produce the enormous specialized labor force at work today in the chemical industry without the extraordinary support given to science activities in the past. From the point of view of professional education alone, the alliance between teaching and research is meaningful. Without ongoing research activities, both teachers and students will lack the exposure to the critical decision-making process that one faces so often during the course of any research project, depending on what happens in the laboratory. Performing only previously tested experiments, for example, introduces a sense of certaintyalmost of dogmainto the subject, which completely reverses the nature of science. It is the research component that sets the correct path, showing how treacherous experimental work can be and how alert and resourceful the experimentalist must be in order to interpret what is taking place. Exposure to this decision-making process is invaluable to any future professional, regardless of what field he or she will be engaged in. If the universities were limited to satisfying market needs only, many other important human activities would also disappear from their concern. Culture in general, and the humanities and arts in particular, would suffer most. Is this really the kind of university we want? Might this not reduce us to a brutish and greedy tribe, intent only on making money for its own sake? Until a few years ago, Brazil enjoyed a very enviable situation by offering scholarships over a wide spectrum, from undergraduate research to postdoctoral fellowships. Of course, this scholarship support was essential to achieve the results outlined above. The number of scholarships has shrunk considerably, and there is widespread concern that it will shrink even more. This contraction of support has significantly affected all graduate programs as well as the "scientific initiation" programs for undergraduates. Salaries in scientific establishments are no longer as attractive as in the past, and it is feared that all these changes will have an adverse effect on the number of students willing to pursue scientific careers. As a consequence, the scientific edifice carefully put together over the last decades runs the risk of crumbling. This edifice should be a source of national pride. Those who do not see it this way, and who pretend to be up-to-date, ignore the fact that in the modern world the most precious good is knowledge. The destruction, or even worse, the demoralization of the science and technology system is relatively easy to bring about, if the present tendencies are not reversed. Much more difficult will be the restoration of the building, if this course of action persists for much longer. Future of Chemistry in Brazil As scientists and academicians, we are at a crossroads of enormous complexity. Gone is the age of innocence, of certainties, or of transparent policies. Instead, we are faced with multiple challenges. What can be done? To start with, we must acknowledge the multiple nature of problems and agree that solutions can and must be pursued. Secondly, solutions will be laborious and costly, and can only be achieved through great effort, unity, and tenacity from the scientific community. We need a confident, unified approach toward a common goal, political in nature, in order to reverse, even if only gradually, the present government policies that are choking Brazilian science. If these policies are not changed, they will lead the country dangerously backwards. Unity of purpose is also essential at all levels of chemistry teaching, as well as within the industrial sector and in any activity linked directly or indirectly with chemistry. This unanimity must be understood as no mere political strategy but as a true ideology in action, expressing the belief I think all chemists share, that the cultivation and advancement of chemistry are essential for the progress and well being of the country. This undertaking is indeed difficult in the present climate, in which the nation's ruling circles tend to consider advanced quality education and scientific research as luxuries that can be postponed. The preference now is to import everything, rather than to encourage domestic development. We thus face an inversion in the direction of history, by which the nation might be led to a situation reminiscent of that which prevailed before the last half-century. In addition to immense academic and political effort, there is more to be done. We need to encourage, as individuals and institutions, together with the scientific societies, the popularization of science and the education of the lay population. Without widespread public backing, this inversion process might take much longer. We would do well to remember that, until a few decades ago, awareness that cultivation of science is a necessity was far from unanimous, even in university circles. Moreover, to bring science to the public in general is a relevant task that we cannot shun, as members of a minority who had access to science education at all levels. The goal of this effort is not to find future scientists, but rather to disseminate science among common citizens and to make them scientifically literate. The discovery of scientific talents will be a possible consequence of this action, not its motivation. Insofar as chemistry is the central science, chemists are also at the center of this responsibility. If we criticize those who deny us support for our research, we cannot be omissive in this regard. Reaching out to the general public, if well conducted, can result in great benefit for the scientific community, too. If we can persuade the general population to accept the idea that science is not only good but indispensable, that it is a manifestation of national pride to have a great number of scientists and institutions doing research, the social status of our activity, as well as our own status, will tend to rise, and we will have more influence on political decisions. In sum, the change in mentality that took place in the universities 30 years ago must now be extended to the rest of the nation. Acknowledgment The author gratefully acknowledges the suggestions made by Professor Carol H. Collins of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas during the preparation of this article.

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