Aprender Ciência (“To Learn Science”) is a project I imagined when I was still getting my PhD in 2002. The idea was to create a website to diffuse science in Brazil, but, I couldn’t come up with it until I became an Assistant Professor at University of São Paulo (USP), in 2007.
We went on air on April 2007, but at that time, the portal had a multidisciplinary character. In 2010, I took it down and we engaged on a new phase. With a more specialized team, we focused on Biophysics diffusion only.
I first got in contact with this fascinating science in 1992, at the Institute of Physics in São Carlos, when I was still an undergraduate student. Now, years later, I coordinate my own research group in that area. We are financed by FAPESP, CNPq and some international facilities.
Since its beginning, Aprender Ciência has been run by more than ten students and today, better structured, is run by three: myself, Juliana Pastor (webmaster) and Heidi C. Piva (artwork). My wish is to help more people fall in love with this beautiful science like I did.
Thank you for your consideration.
Patricia Targon Campana
editor Aprender Ciência.
pcampana@usp.br
Scientist's X-ray
I, as many of you science lovers, used to play with a small briefcase filled with cotton, pieces of paper and wood sticks, medicine empty flasks full of water and coloured flower petals, besides all the imagination-derived-stuff for science, since my childhood…Turns out that I got into a physics bacherelor course, followed by a M.S degree in Physics at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and a PhD in Science (emphasis at Experimental and Theoretical Physics), at the same University.
Currently, I am the Head of the Group Biomaterials and Spectroscopy and my main research is foccused on Molecular Biophysics. Meaning: we try to understand the structure and function relations of diverse biological molecules as lectins, peptides and proteins, sugars and lipids. Once the changes at molecular structure are understood, these molecules are used for biomaterials development.
But the life of a scientist is not only the funny stuff…you know, lab, experiments, discovers, seminars, travelling around the world… no no. A scientist must also tutor students, give classes at undergraduate and graduate levels, find finantial support for everything, so, regarding to this matter, we are based on the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities from University of São Paulo, at São Paulo city, Brazil, where I’m a researcher and an assistant professor. I was also, at the last five years, visiting professor at Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, (Roma, Italia), at University of Johannesburg (Johannesburg, South Africa), and researcher fellowship at National Institute for Materials Science (Tsukuba, Japan). From 2012 to 2013, I tried to give some contribution for the science polices, back then being assessor of Coordination of the Institute for Studies Brazil Europe (IBE).
This year, I expect to stay more time at my own lab… |
