Luiz Bevilacqua

Luiz Bevilacqua is coordinator of the Center of Cognition and Systems at ABC Federal University (UFABC). He is a civil engineer who graduated from Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ), with a specialist degree in bridges and structures from Stuttgart Technical School (Germany), a Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from Stanford University (United States) and a postdoctoral degree in Materials Resistance from UFRJ. He was president of UFRJ (2006-2008) and director of the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (COPPE) (1990-1992) at the same university. Bevilacqua was also secretary-general of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (1992-1993), president of the Brazilian Space Agency (2003-2004), scientific director of the Rio de Janeiro Carlos Chagas Filho Research Foundation (FAPERJ) (1995) and academic associate dean of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) (1979-1985). His areas of research include singularities in multiple connected mediums (variational approach); shape optimization of membranes and peels; stability of nonlinear membranes; Mooney-Rivlin solids and materials not resistant to compression (tension fields); wave propagation in non-homogeneous mediums (identification of mechanical parameters); dynamics of fractal structures; modeling of biological and social systems; and investigation of cognitive processes and mathematical modeling. He received CNPq’s Almirante Álvaro Alberto Award in Sciences of Engineering in 1995 and was the recipient of three federal commendations: the Order of Rio Branco Commendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1994); the President’s Commendation of the National Order of Scientific Merit (1995); and the President’s Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (2000).