EDITORIAL
The second PADCT is now over at a time marked by many events, some of which are happier than others. We are living in challenging, often difficult times, but this is not a mediocre period.
The number of Brazilian chemical researchers is now about 3 times as large as in 1983, when PADCT preparation started.
The Brazilian chemical industry has also grown, even though factories have closed and many jobs have been lost. In spite of the problems, the current shape and health of the industry are better now than could have been foreseen in 1990-1992.
Chemistry has been priviledged by Brazilian governmental policies in science and technology. This has given our community new status, and new responsabilities.
At this point in time, there are industrial investments and qualified personnel at all levels. It should be possible to make a further, decisive step, which would be the marriage between new knowledge and new investments in the chemical sector.
Many of us are aware of previous attempts and failures. There were many reasons for these, but from my point of view the decisive factors were circumstantial conditions which would have been damaging to the practice of good science and were therefore rejected by the academy.
Current thinking among many government and industy officials acknowledges that university-industry ventures depend on high quality scientifically ambitious activity. This is a new situation, which gives chemical research an enormous opportunity.
Fernando Galembeck
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
04 Oct 2011 -
Date of issue
1997
