Editorial: realizing Brazil’s potential as a world class research nation

The Federative Republic of Brazil, with a population of around 200 million, is Latin America’s largest country. Its territory encompasses a total of 8.514 million square kilometers, with a coastline which extends itself to nearly 7.491 kilometers, making Brazil the fifth largest nation in the world in respect of both size and population. Brazil shares a border with nearly all South American countries (the exceptions being Ecuador and Chile). The country has strong international links and relations, being one of the founding members of the United Nations, the G20, the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the Organization of American States, Mercosul and the Union of South American Nations, among others.

Brazil stands for the “B” of the BRIC group, which also encompasses Russia, India and China. Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) was worth US$ 2435.20 billion in 2012, representing 3.9% of the world’s economy. This in turn means that Brazil has the seventh largest economy in the world, in respect of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity.

But Brazil is not only an important country due to its economic weight. The scientific potential of Brazil is significant and has historical routes: some Brazilian scientists such Alberto Santos-Dumont (aviation), Oswaldo Cruz and Carlos Chagas (biotechnology), to name only a few, are among the greatest researchers and innovators Brazil has produced. The list of distinct Brazilian researchers of international renomée is long and includes many scientific fields. The country already excels in some key areas in research and development (R&D), for instance:

This list of scientific areas and achievements is by no means comprehensive. It serves the purpose of outlining some of the many areas where Brazilian R&D is particularly strong. More recently, the open source programming language “Lua”, created by a team based in Rio de Janeiro, is now being used in Wikipedia and other major web platforms worldwide, representing a further example of the innovation potential seen in Brazil.

Brazilian R&D, especially in the key areas outlined above, has proven to be highly efficient and this places the country in a good position to compete with industrialised nations. In some key scientific fields, the R&D standards in Brazil are high as in North America or Europe. However, there are many problems which have hindered its further development and have been preventing Brazil from fully realising its potential as a world class research nation. Some of these barriers are:

A further problem to be overcome is related to the communication with international audiences. Most Brazilian scientists and research organisations still rely too much on publications in Portuguese, or–to a lesser extent-on Spanish or French as the means to disseminate the results of their work and projects. If the country wants to fully realize its potential, then there is a pressing need to make more use of English as a language of communication and to publish in English-language journals. This will facilitate the dissemination of results of research to a wider audience, will ensure access to international circles and foster the image of Brazil as a research-friendly country.

In order to realize its potential as a world class nation in respect of research, leading to a greater recognition and international penetration, Brazil needs to address the problems here raised. In terms of how to do so, three important elements may be mentioned:

The Brazilian Journal of Science and Technology (BJST) wants to provide a contribution to the development of R&D in Brazil. It will endeavor to serve as a platform via which results of studies and research undertaken in Brazil or relevant to Brazil, are disseminated to a national and international audience. BJST should be regarded as a–timely–complement to the on-going efforts to promote Brazilian R&D, being also of use to scientists from other countries in Latin American, who want to reach an international audience.