The research in physics at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul started in 1960, soon after the creation of the Institute of Physics, by the end of 1960. The first area of concentration was theoretical nuclear physics, which in the sequence originated several other research areas. In 1974 was created the plasma physics group, incorporating some researchers originated from nuclear physics. The initial 25 years of the history of this group are discussed in this work, with emphasis on the scientific productivity in the form of master dissertations, doctoral thesis, contributions to scientific events, and publications in journals with international circulation. A brief bibliometric analysis shows the scientific maturity attained by the group and the degree of adherence to the ideas and principles which motivated its creation. Finally, the historical registers show that the development of the group constitutes a well-succeeded example of institutional planning, in contrast with situations in which new research lines appear almost as a result of spontaneous generation, by simple ramification of groups already existent.
Keywords:
Plasma physics; Instituto de Física; UFRGS
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