CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is an international organization host to the Large Hadron Collider, the high energy accelerator for particle-physics research. In December 2020, CNPEM and CERN signed an agreement to collaborate in accelerator physics. We aim to develop expertise at CNPEM in superconducting magnets technology. With Brazil about to join CERN as an Associate Member State, this is a natural partnership between a national accelerator laboratory, and a global research infrastructure extending Members’ facilities. Over 2021, we studied ‘superbend’ magnets to enhance Sirius’ capabilities for more beamlines. I was impressed by the energy and competence of the team assembled at CNPEM, including junior physicists and engineers. In less than a year they mastered all aspects of this challenge, delivering a sound design. The Association of Brazil to CERN will open opportunities for Brazilian nationals at our laboratory, and allow national companies to become our suppliers. The talent of the CNPEM community, that we now witnessed first-hand, bodes extremely well for this exciting future!

My research project involves developing cryogels from cellulose derivatives for thermal insulation, removing pollutants, or releasing pharmaceuticals. We have always been users and have always been very pleased with the service and support onsite at CNPEM. In 2021 we had a great experience with remote interaction. Communication with the staff was excellent.

Many of our crystals are very small and fragile, and we have a problem measuring diffraction data at the necessary resolution. This requires us to use state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation sources, and in recent years these measurements have been done abroad, for example in England, Europe, Sweden, and France. With an instrument like this, the same as those found around the world, Brazil is now in the premier league of science internationally.

CBA carries out various technological studies with partners on the performance and application of aluminium to promote innovative market solutions. Working with CNPEM is part of successful partnerships. In this way, we have enriched discussions by delivering value for future market trends and global challenges that will face the society, including from the perspective of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

Science is about Nature and uses mathematics as a language. What unites the two fields are experiments, which characterize the phenomena by quantitative measures, opening the door to mathematical modelling. Traditionally, bachelors in the various sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) focus on learning the models and measurement techniques in a given discipline. Today, solving the problems we need to face is multidisciplinary, and scientists must learn to talk to other areas after graduation. ILUM enables the training of scientists already in contact with different disciplines, with an infrastructure that enables state-of-the art experiments, enabling interactions with scientists from multiple disciplines. It is an avant-garde idea, proposed on solid foundations, and it will result in special training for scientists who leave there: they will make a difference in the environments where they work.

The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials is globally renowned for its use of state-of-the-art scientific methods. Its influential publications in the highest quality journals are changing the way in which both academia and industry think about the use and potential of biorenewables in an environmentally sustainable world. An example of this work was recently published in Nature Chemical Biology vol 16, 920–929 (2020), in which a team of researchers from CNPEM revealed a stunning structure-function relationship between GH124 enzymes and their activity on beta-1,3- linked glucans (one of the most abundant of all polysaccharides). The study involved researchers from across many different disciplines, and can only be described as a tour-de-force in the scientific method. Indeed, it is a hallmark of the way that science is both organised and run at CNPEM, where the power of diverse teams is brought to tackle some of the more complex problems that can be found in biology, especially those associated with the greater use of biorenewables. In many ways, the working practices of CNPEM point to the future of scientific research and how it will need to be carried out if humankind is going to be successful in tackling some of the most challenging problems it faces. Put another way, CNPEM is a global exemplar of how we should be doing academic research.

The partnership with the CNPEM has been promising for the development of enzymatic routes toward the production of second-generation ethanol and renewable hydrocarbons, biofuels that are extremely interesting domestically and internationally. CNPEM’s competence, infrastructure, and management certainly made the innovative and significant results of our project possible, considering the state of the art and the challenges of the bioenergy industry. In this joint initiative, CNPEM’s high qualifications allowed us to move forward on two strategic fronts to expand the use of biofuels and catalyze sustainability in Brazil. Our experience is yet another successful example of how CNPEM’s performance is relevant on topics that are fundamental for technological progress and to generate benefits for society.

We are not behind anyone. I often collect data in Soleil and Diamond [synchrotron light sources in France and the UK, respectively] too, but it’s no longer necessary, is it? The beamline is perfect, and I am getting the same quality of data here that I was getting abroad. It’s excellent.

In the second half of 2021, we submitted a service request to CNPEM which involved performing an optical lithography process on six chromium-coated silicon samples. This entire process was fast and intuitive. I mail-posted the sample and emailed the file containing the lithograph pattern. One of the highlights was the agile and continuous interaction of the technicians throughout the process. For example, the technician Davi contacted me saying that there was damage to some of the samples sent, which would lead to problems in the lithographic process, and we decided together how to proceed. Considering the type of service performed and the fact that CNPEM was performing it for the first time, I also highlight the quality of the material delivered and the short time of the entire process, less than two weeks. At Inmetro, we proved the high quality of the service provided, with a photoresist film with a lithograph pattern made in high quality and in the way we had planned. We were very satisfied with the professionalism of the team and with all the performance of this service provided at CNPEM.

Sirius exceeded my expectations. Having a machine like this here and doing analyses of this complexity is a triumph for Brazil. What used to take you hours [in the old CNPEM electron accelerator] can now be done in minutes. This makes the technique scalable in terms of how many samples you can analyze and makes new techniques possible.