Professor from UFRJ visits LabTel and seeks new partnerships in the field of photonics.

• Post by: Vitor Guerra
• 27/04/2023
• No Comment

Ghenis Carlos Silva* –

The coordinator of the Instrumentation and Photonics Laboratory of the Electrical Engineering Program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Marcelo Werneck, visited the structures of the Telecommunications Laboratory at Ufes (LabTel) and the Research, Innovation and Development Center (CPID ) in Espírito Santo in March, with the aim of learning about the equipment used in the development of new technologies.

During the visits, the researcher was surprised by the architecture, the equipment and the flow of financial investment from LabTel and CPID. Werneck had the opportunity to  glimpse developed projects, talk to other researchers about the future of photonics and explain about the activities of the laboratory he coordinates at UFRJ.

The professor is also evaluating the possibility of expanding scientific partnerships with LabTel and CPID, as well as the possibility of offering more research grants to students.

“We noticed a mutual interest in developing a multi-channel Bragg grating interrogator. We have to work hard to show cost equity. There is new equipment here, a photonics laboratory with a lot of equipment and all of this is very expensive. We will keep in touch to deepen the discussion regarding this future partnership”, he says.

Werneck sees the field of photonics as something very promising and praised the work carried out at the Laboratory.

“In the area of photonics and optical fibers, I noticed a very well equipped laboratory that has a chance of becoming a very important nucleus if properly managed. There are great opportunities there that should, over time, attract more and more students. Students are the most important part of our collection, they are the ones that are worth the most”, says Werneck about the visit to the facilities.

The photonics industry is Werneck’s field of reference, specializing in working with fiber optics. The sensors developed with fiber optics can help, for example, to contain gas leaks from petroleum, which have a high explosive content.

The scientific scope of photonics makes it possible for researchers to work in different areas. With this technology, it is possible, for example, to monitor the stability of a dam and detect the beginning of its rupture.

“We can also make sensors that measure soil displacement: a well is dug and a pipe with an optical fiber is inserted. applies to geology”.

* Bolsista em projeto de Comunicação