São Paulo – The Egyptian researcher Nagib Nassar, a professor emeritus at the University of Brasília (UnB) launched the Nagib Nassar Foundation for Scientific and Sustainable Development (Fundação Nagib Nassar para Desenvolvimento Científico e Sustentável – Funagib) late last year. The foundation has just launched a contest offering a research grant to Brazilians who do work on cassava.
For over 40 years now, Nassar has conducted research on the improvement and genetic potential of cassava. In 2014, he won a USD 100,000 prize from the Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Science (KFAS) for his research on the use of the cassava root in fighting hunger.
Using the prize money and his own resources, Nassar created his foundation and decided to offer the grant in a bid to encourage other scientists to devote themselves to researching cassava. He dubbed the grant Bolsa Kuwait 2016 (the 2016 Kuwait Grant), and it will offer BRL 10,000 (roughly USD 2,480) to the best research project entered by a master’s or doctoral candidate from a Brazilian university.
Registration is already open and the deadline is March 31. The winner will be announced on May 1. “The genetic potentiality of cassava hasn’t been explored as much as those of other plants. Currently, cassava yields from 13 to 14 tons per hectare. New research could bring that number up to as much as 30 tons per hectare,” says Nassar.
He claims lack of research funding for young scientists is a critical issue to scientific development in Brazil. The Egyptian professor believes investment in cassava root research could lead to it being used as food for the poorer demographics.
Candidates must be enrolled in a master’s or doctorate course in Brazil; do research on genetic improvement of cassava; and have spent at least six months researching the subject. The grant is valid for two years, with the BRL 10,000 sum being disbursed in three installments, at six-month intervals.
According to Nassar, the foundation is interested in funding research focusing on three specific aspects: increasing yield, increasing protein content, and increasing vitamin content.
At first, only one grant will be awarded, but Nassar says he’s interested in offering other research grants with support from new sponsors. According to the professor, the foundation is open to receiving funding from organizations looking to foster scientific development, and new grants could be named after their financiers.
Foundation
Nagib Nassar was born in Asyut, in southern Egypt, and moved to Brazil in 1974 at the invite of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, after the two countries signed a bilateral scientific exchange agreement.
Prior to working at the University of Brasília, where he has been for 30-plus years, the Egyptian professor also had tenures at the University of São Paulo and the Federal University of Goiânia. In 1979, Nassar became a naturalized Brazilian citizen.
The establishment of Funagib was approved in November 2015, but the official launch is due on March 3 at the UnB. According to Nassar, 14 of the university’s professors are doing volunteer work at the foundation.
For more on Bolsa Kuwait 2016 and on how to register go to http://funagib.geneconserve.pro.br/editais.html
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
