Brasil na PulPaper - Revista O Papel

InterviewLeadership in scientificresearchBy Caroline MartinA professional history that totals 40+ years of experiencein the forestry and pulp and paper sectors, invarious activity fronts, is sufficient grounds for professorDr. Celso Foelkel, former President of the BrazilianPulp and Paper Technical Association (ABTCP) to beawarded the Madeira 2010 (Wood 2010) award in theResearcher category. The Wood Award is one of themost important of the traditional Wood event organizedevery two years by Instituto BESC Humanidades eEconomia (http://www.institutobesc.org), with effectivesupport from representative entities of the forestry basedBrazilian sector. With a forest agronomy engineeringbackground, Foelkel has published over 500 scientifictechnical articles, lectures, columns and opinions. Hehas also managed the research and development areasof companies in the sector, was a professor at five universities,conducted renowned actions in the institutionalarea worldwide and, now, is thoroughly involved inanother field. “Instead of teaching classes to a smallnumber of students, I saw that I could present informationto thousands of people through the internet”. It iswith great enthusiasm that Foelkel talks to us aboutProject Eucalyptus Online Book, a pioneer initiative oflaunching a totally free digital bilingual book, availableFoelkel says: “many operation andresearch engineers are dominatedby the use of technology to thepoint of moving away from thehands-on process”at www.abtcp.com.br and www.eucalyptus.com.br, about the fiber that led Brazil to rank in the top positions of the sectorworldwide as a producer of bleached short-fiber eucalyptus pulp. In this interview, Dr. Foelkel reveals details about today’sfield of research in Brazil and points to the directions that the pulp and paper will pursue in the future.banco de imagens abtcp / Sérgio BrittoO PAPEL - Junho 201012O Papel Magazine – Whatpublic incentives are there for becominga researcher in Brazil?Celso Foelkel – Public universitiesconstitute the origin of Brazilianresearchers. The main advantage ofthese educational institutions residesin the possibility of offering scientistsconditions to work in two fronts:teaching knowledge as a career anddeveloping innovations through aca-demic research. The big dilemma isthe limitation that students suffer afterearning a graduate and/or postgraduatedegree, as there is not all that muchdemand for these competencies in thecountry. There is still need for greaterparticipation of companies, not only inmaintaining researchers on their staffs,but also to support research carriedout by institutions specialized in thesubject manner.O Papel – Is this why Braziliantalents in this field end up going abroadto seek recognition for projects theydevelop?Foelkel – Yes. Another commonsituation is seen in cases with professionalswho were excellent researcherswhile going to school, but end up havingto pursue unexpected (or undesired)paths in their careers, giving place toprofessional frustration. This giving