São Paulo Laser Program Announced

The São Paulo School of Advanced Science (SPSAS) program on the “Frontiers of Lasers and Their Applications” will take place July 16-27 at the Center for Lasers and Applications in the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.

The program will be held with the XVI Jorge André Swieca School on Non-Linear and Quantum Optics. The school aims to disseminate and improve knowledge in laser photonics in order to achieve a critical mass of scientists working in this field. Selected students from other cities, states or countries are entitled to funds for airline tickets, transportation from airport to hotel and back, and daily allowance in the city where the school will be organized. Students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs in Brazil or any other country may submit applications until March 31.

"It is an achievable goal, through high-level teaching in basic education and also on the frontier of knowledge, both of which are SPSAS' emphasis,” said Niklaus Ursus Wetter, general coordinator of the SPSAS. “We will organize classes lectured by teachers from Brazil and abroad, as well as minicourses, workshops and conferences, in order to assure our students make the best of it.”

Photonics is a field that will promote a major impact on the technology, society and economy of the near future, says Wetter, but he said that there are many challenges in Brazil that have to be overcome for the industry to succeed.

"Among other gaps, I see a lack of a solid academic background in Brazilian students when compared with students from countries where education is a state priority, and that stop us from tackling more complex subjects as the ones in such a recent field as photonics,” Wetter said. “The promotion of this school is yet another vital step in the formation of scientists, as well as in the fostering of companies and innovation in such a strategic area, responsible for a market that generated $530 billion.”

Through the SPSAS program, the São Paulo Research Foundation offers funding for the organization of short duration courses in advanced research in the different areas of knowledge in the state of São Paulo.