On June 30, 2004, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology and the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, DC hosted a Brazil & U.S. Technology Open House to promote cooperation among Brazilian and United States technology institutions.

Over 250 people attended the event at the NIST research campus in Gaithersburg, Md., which introduced U.S. high-tech companies and organizations and U.S. policy makers to some of the technological achievements of by Brazilian organizations. The open house attracted over 50 research institutions and companies from Brasilia, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahía, Paraná and the Amazonas in Brazil.

The program included remarks by U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Phil Bond, NIST Director Arden Bement, George Atkinson, Science Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State, Brazilian Ambassador Roberto Abdenur, Luis Fernandes, Brazil’s Deputy Minister for Science and Technology, and Carlos Cristo, Chief of Staff for the Secretary for Industrial Technology of Brazil.

A poster session featured presentations by participating institutes, including NIST, the American Chemical Society and several Brazilian institutions of science and technology: Manufacturing and Technology Center (SENAI/CIMATEC), Biomass National Reference Center (CENBIO), Micro and Small Enterprises support Service Technology Center of Health and Environment (SENAI/CETSAM), Coordination of Post-Graduate and Engineering Research (COPPE), Reference Centers for Innovative Technologies (CERTI), State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation Paulo (FAPESP), National Research Institute of the Amazons (INPA), Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN), National Institute of Space (INPE), National Institute of Technology (INT), Synchrotron National Laboratory (LNLS), Institute of Technological Research (IPT), National Institute for Metrology Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO), Technology Development Institute – LACTEC, the Nucleus for Advance Manufacturing (NUMA). Several Brazilian commercial firms alos made presentations, includingBambusa (Brasilia, manufacturers of cocktail sticks and toothpicks); Brapenta (São Paulo, manufacturers of metal detectors for security); Endoview (Recife, manufacturers of medical equipment); Fibraforte (manufacturers of mechanical systems for aerospace; Fluidos da Amazonia (manufacturers of perfumes with raw material from the Amazons); Hewlett Packard (Porto Alegre); Kraft Foods do Brasil (Curitiba); and oil producer Petrobras.

Representatives of the U.S. Department of State, the National Science Foundation, the Organization of American States, attended but did not make presentations.

Photos from the event.