Infrastructure support for Embrapa Instrumentation’s laboratories

• Grant number: 12/50944-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Technical Reserve for Institutional Research Infrastructure
• Start date: September 01, 2012
• End date: August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso
• Grantee: Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Over the last five years, Embrapa Instrumentation has increased its research team from 20 to 30 PhDs. This research team holds the leadership in two national research networks, being one focused on the Nanotechnology Applied to Agriculture, which brings together 180 researchers, and the other one in Precision Agriculture, with 214 researchers. In addition to these 2 research networks, Embrapa Instrumentation has also research in water and soil management and conservation, post-harvest, agroenergy and environment. As a thematic-type center within Embrapa, this Center has a diverse record of laboratories that develop projects funded by FAPESP using techniques of Physics, Chemistry, agricultural science, and engineering to develop methodologies and equipments that explore a broad spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, since radiofrequency of RMN up to ionizing radiation from X-Ray and Gama tomography, and also infrared, visible (from photothermical and photoacoustic techniques) and ultraviolet technique. It is worth mentioning that a new building funded by Embrapa (named building II) that enlarges the laboratory area of Embrapa Instrumentation is under construction. This project aims at make the electrical structure of the new laboratories encompassed by this new building. The growth and diversification of Embrapa Instrumentation research lines make it possible the approval of an expressive numbers of projects funded by FAPESP, which allowed the purchase of new and large equipments. Thus, the starting project of the building II needed to be altered to more laboratories, including: agroenergy, nanocomposites, precision pulverization, water quality evaluation, samples preparation, NMR and photoacoustic spectroscopy, electronics and development and mechanics shop. The bidding process of the building II did not preview the electrical charges of the equipments to be installed in the new mentioned laboratories. Therefore. it is necessary a complementation in the electrical structure of building li, including installation of electrical distribution board longer and wider electrical cables, and more plugs units, as confirmed in the descriptive memorial in the presented quotes. By this infrastructure project, all the ongoing research projects from Embrapa instrumentation will be assisted. (AU)