Memorial lecture "Joaquim da Costa Ribeiro" given by Prof. João A. H. da Jornada (IF-UFRGS) on September 10, 2017 in Gramado (Brazil) during the opening of the XVI B-MRS Meeting.

1. João A. H. da Jornada- IF-UFRGS
New Perspectives on Materials
Science and Innovation in Brazil
SBPMAT- Memorial Lecture- September 10, 2017

2. Main Perspective- Justification
• Modern society is increasingly demanding efficiency,
effective social impact, and transparency in the use
of public money
• Science uses a sizable amount of public funds
• Science is expected to contribute strongly to
innovation- a well recognized factor for generating
wealth and public good
• A detailed connection between science, particularly
basic research, and innovation is far from clear- a
deeper understanding of the problem is frequently
lacking

3. W. Press, Science 342, 817 (2013)

5. The easy problem
• Demonstrate a general correlation between
science and social well-being
The difficult problem
• How to reap the benefits from the investments in
science- who gets the benefits? Capacity to
absorb useful knowledge and appropriate the
results
Important needs
• Deeper understanding of the complex
mechanism relating science and innovation
• Better narratives and practices for engaging key
social players

6. Concerns of the modern Society with
the proper justification- a few examples

10. Ethan Siegel , Contributor

12. Concern of the US National Science and
Technology Council:
“A gap exists between R&D activities and the
deployment of technological innovations in
domestic production of goods,” contributing
significantly, for example, to the growing trade
deficit in high-value-added, advanced technology
products.
National Science and Technology Council, National Network for
Manufacturing Innovation: A Preliminary Design, January 2013, pg.4.
http://www.manufacturing.gov/docs/nnmi_prelim_design.pdf

13. (Mike Molnar, 2016)
Strong point for the US Advanced Manufacturing
National Program

14. A significant problem we are facing in Brazil:
Ranked 64th in
Global Innovation
Index against 13th
in scientific
production;
World's 7th largest
economy but
ranked 30th in
manufactures
exports.
Source: WIPO and Scopus

15. How to deal with the situation
• Better understanding of the key concepts and the
contexts involved
• Better understanding of the mechanisms
• Better dialogue by means of better narratives and
practices

16. Oslo Manual (3rd edition, 2005)
“An innovation is the
implementation of a new or
significantly improved product
(good or service), or process, a
new marketing method, or a new
organizational method in business
practices, workplace organization
or external relations.”
Innovation – a wide range concept

17. Schumpeter’s 5 types of innovations:
(focus on the entrepreneur)
1.The introduction of a new method of production;
2.The opening of a new market;
3.The conquest of a new source of supply of raw materials
of half manufactured goods;
4.The carrying out of the new organization.
McCraw, T.K., Prophet of innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and creative destruction,
Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007

18. Important concepts beyond the simplistic
“Linear Model”
• Absorption and Appropriation Capacity
• Accessibility to a “Pool of Knowledge”, and
ability to combine different types of knowledge
• Networking, Cooperation and Connectedness
• Flow and management of Tacit Knowledge
• Innovative ecosystem- Qualified people and
Culture

19. M. Gulbrandsen, in W. Østreng (ed.), Confluence. Interdisciplinary
Communications (2009)
The “Linear Model”- an easy narrative

20. Chain-linked model (Kline & Rosenberg 1986)

21. Michael Polanyi and Ikujiro Nonaka :
“tacit”x“codified/explicit” knowledge
“we actually know far more
than we can tell”

22. Organizational knowledge
Nonaka and Takeuchi’s spiral of knowledge creation (1995)

23. Chain-linked model (Kline & Rosenberg 1986)

25. Actions from the Scientific Community
for proper justification and articulation
with key social players- a few examples

32. The Importance of Materials Science for
Innovation
• Culture, practices and tacit knowledge involved
are very related to innovation:
• Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity
• Networking, Cooperation and Connectedness
• The thematic space- new and improved
materials, as well as deep understanding of
properties, are great enabler of innovation

33. Materials Science and Innovation
UNESCO Science Report (2015):
“…the next waves of high technologies are
expected to emanate from [disciplines that include]
molecular biology, biotechnology and
pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, material
sciences and chemistry, in intimate synergy with
information and communication technologies.
These disciplines are rooted in the basic research
laboratories of universities”

34. “The significant problems we face today
cannot be solved at the same level of
thinking at which they were created.”
- Albert Einstein
A final reflection

35. Muito Obrigado!
jajornada@thegfcc.org