26-07-2022
The Department of Chemistry, in collaboration with the research centre MEtRICs, promoted four internships in the scope of the program Ciência Viva no Laboratório 2022.
In these internships were received 11 high school students who had the opportunity to know the laboratories of NOVA School of Science and Technology and the Caparica campus.
The students also put on their lab coats and performed important tests to help evaluate if agro-food and forest residues rich in lignocellulose can be used in the preparation of nanocellulose and if it can be successfully incorporated in bioplastics, contributing to the reinforcement of these biopolymers; they helped evaluate if the fruits of the prickly pear can be used as sensors to assess deteriorated food; they found out whether various compounds can serve as fertiliser for agriculture and whether or not they can be toxic for public health and ecosystems and they understood whether biomasses rich in lignocellulosic material, such as reeds, can be employed in phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals and at the same time in the production of bioenergy.
The students were received and accompanied by Ana Luisa Fernando, João Pires, Leandro Gomes, Carolina Rodrigues, Filipa Pires and Marcelo Abias.
FCT NOVA hosted 30 Ciência Viva internships that counted with the participation of 126 secondary school students. This partnership, already 25 years old, promotes contact with the world of research and supports decisions for the academic and professional future.
The Department also had the NQA Summer School, promoted between the 11th and 15th of July by the Núcleo de Química Aplicada and the Biochemistry Summer University, of the Núcleo de Bioquímica, which will only take place in September.
