Unicamp Explorations, As Always...

Yesterday I spent a day doing explorations at my Alma Mater, Unicamp ("Universidade Estadual de Campinas" - State University of Campinas), in Brazil. For those who already know about it, feel free to skip the next two paragraphs. For the others, you may learn your piece of Brazilian trivia today!

Back in 1966, Brazil was living under a military dictatorship, where Army generals would be nominated President (there is a whole lot more to this story, but that would require a whole lot more writing...). At the time, the military had decided that Brazil must become an industrial powerhouse, and as such they were attracting foreign companies to build plants in the country. As part of that effort, they knew that they needed more engineers, mathematicians, physicists, etc... in other words, more universities. It just so happens that at that time a visionary professor of medicine (Prof. Zeferino Vaz) had this crazy idea of creating a brand new university in the location of an old massive farm. He talked to the military and they bought that idea, and in that year the president at the time laid the cornerstone of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp).

Even though the military was supporting the new university, that did not mean that there were plenty of resources for it. But Prof. Vaz's idea (which is followed to this day) is that the lack of resources, or adequate buildings, or proper equipment, should not stop the people in the new university from conducting world-class research - we should figure it out, somehow, to make it work with what we have. And as cutting edge research was done, the university would get more resources, so you may start your research project in an improvised fashion, but you could end up with better laboratories and equipment in the end - and therefore the university was always building new labs, or starting new programs, or just trying something new. And, with that, it ended up being one of the top colleges in the country.

As such, every time I visit the campus, there is always new stuff. It's crazy, really: you can always see some construction project going on, or the signs of a new lab, or just new things and new ideas. It makes for a very vibrant place, and that's why I love visiting it every time I come to Brazil.

There is one more peculiarity I should talk about: when I joined the University, I was amazed by the size of the campus and the variety of buildings and places. Many buildings were built very fast, almost in a haphazard way, so there are lots of places to explore. Furthermore, I always had a little bit of an urban explorer in me, so I would find a way to climb on the roof of some building (where I wasn't supposed to be) or go on top of one of the big water towers (where I was even less supposed to be).

This time around, as always, I found interesting new things to look at and even one more water tower to climb: a small one, but it was still interesting nevertheless, allowing some views of the nearby buildings. I'm already looking forward to the next time I'll be here!

(the entrance to the library of the Philosophy and Human Sciences Institute)

(a sign demanding classes in History and Philosophy during night hours)

(at the Philosophy and Human Sciences Institute, a sign for neutral restroom, with a somewhat long explanation of why any other "classification" would be discriminatory)

(translation: "The error is a method for the new")

(a mural at the front lobby of the University Central Library)

(a picture at the Central Library, showing the ethos of the University: in 1980, one of the top physicists of the college giving a class outside, proving that even the lack of a classroom should not stop us)

(a sign for "Biosecurity Level 1 Lab - RESTRICTED ACCESS: ONLY AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL" - I don't think I'm entering this one)

(inside the Chemistry Institute)

(next to the School of Medical Sciences, a canvas roof that has seen better days)

(a mural with Prof. Zeferino Vaz, the inscription on the campus cornerstone, and a picture of the beginnings of the campus)

(A water tower with an unimpeded set of stairs! It's really small, though, is it even worth risking climbing it?)

(of course it is!)

(another rooftop view for my collection)

(this was an interesting finding: throughout the campus you can see these random small buildings with no external sign of what they are about. I was lucky that this one was open, with some technicians working inside, and they explained to me that they contain networking equipment that provides Internet access to the whole campus. Fun fact: they wouldn't let me take a picture of the inside of the building for security reasons)

(a meteorological radar station at the highest point in the campus)

(this building has an interesting story: it sits next to the radar station and it was originally opened as the "naked eye observatory", for sky gazing. Then, it was left abandoned for many years, and students - including this one - found many "interesting" uses for it. Finally, the University fully remodeled it and reopened it as the Dynamic Museum of Science, with various devices to demonstrate science such as a sun clock, a pendulum, etc - and a permanent security presence)

(and, finally, my own corner of the campus: the new buildings of the Computing Institute)