ABM WEEK’s opening ceremony will include a very special moment. After two years of postponement of the technical-scientific event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nominees for the 2020 and 2021 ABM Medals will be jointly awarded at the event in recognition of their histories and the role they played in the development of the Brazilian mining, metals, and materials industry.

Dagoberto Brandão Santos, a professor at UFMG’s (Federal University of Minas Gerais) Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering for 45 years, was the recipient of the Hubertus Colpaert Medal of Merit in Physical Metallurgy and Metallography in 2020.

Santos graduated in Metallurgical Engineering from UFMG in 1977, where he also received a Master's and a Doctor’s degree in Metallurgical and Mining Engineering in 1980 and 1991, respectively. He has been the advisor to 58 masters and 12 doctoral candidates and published 130 articles over the decades.

“All this work has always been related to Metallography (characterization of metallic materials’ microstructure) and the principles of Physical Metallurgy. As in engineering, we don't guess what a material's performance will be; rather, we measure it following technical standards,” he points out. 

The medal crowns the professor's dedication to research, teaching and training professionals and both undergraduate and graduate students. “I feel very honored by this award from ABM,” he celebrates.

Santos will share the stage with Alamar Kasan Duarte, winner of the 2021 Vicente Chiaverini Medal – Merit in Processes.
A metallurgical engineer from UFMG (1974), Duarte earned a Master's degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Missouri (1982) and a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from UFMG (2005). He worked at Magnesita from 1975 to 2007, having been manager of the Research & Development Center. He is currently executive director with Yamagata Consultoria and professor of Refractories at UFMG’s School of Chemical Engineering since 2008.

“Precisely 50 years ago, when I was studying Metallurgical Engineering at UFMG School of Engineering, I had the privilege of reading the book Aços-Carbono e Aços-Liga (Carbon and Alloy Steels) by professor Vicente Chiaverini – a book published by ABM, by one of the pioneers of metallurgy in Brazil and founder of this very important institution that is ABM. Now, I’m being honored with a medal that bears his name,” Duarte says.

The 2020 and 2021 ABM Merit Medals will also be awarded during the ceremony to Vânia Lúcia de Lima Andrade, member of ABM’s Board of Director, and INT (Brazil’s National Institute of Technology), respectively.

“This tribute moves me for the importance ABM has had in my life. It allowed me to build my professional legacy. I’ve always worked in the mining industry and today I work at ABM to improve mining – I’m grateful for that,” says Lima Andrade. 

She holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from UFMG and Master's degrees in Extractive Metallurgy from UFMG and Technology Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She worked at Vale for 39 years and was Technology Director at the Mines and Energy Ministry’s Department of Geology, Mining, and Mineral Transformation in 2017. Lima Andrade has been a member of the ABM Mining Committee for over 20 years.

The tribute to INT takes place as the institution celebrates its 100th anniversary. Founded in 1921 as an Experimental Station for Fuels and Ores, INT was a pioneer in researching new industrial processes for the use of local raw materials, having developed the first Brazilian ferro-manganese alloy.

Ernesto Lopes da Fonseca Costa, INT’s founder and first director, was one of the introducers of technological research in Brazil, having pioneered the use of X-rays in the field of technology in the country. In 1940, he participated in the creation of Brazil’s National Mining and Metallurgy Council. Costa was one of the first engineers to be awarded the Gold Medal from the then Brazilian Association of Metals, nowadays named ABM Medal of Merit.

Sylvio Fróes Abreu, who later headed the INT, published a fundamental inventory of the Brazilian mineral sector in 1937. 
INT continued to make numerous contributions to the country’s technological development in the following decades with its pioneering spirit in areas such as metrology, competitive intelligence, and additive manufacturing. 

“We’re very honored with this tribute when the Institute turns 100. INT has a long-lasting partnership with ABM, especially through ABM’s Rio Regional Unit, which was based at the Institute in the 1970s and again, most recently, since 2017,” says Iêda Maria Vieira Caminha, director of INT.

A metallurgical engineer, Vieira Caminha was the first woman in 75 years at ABM to be awarded the ABM Medal of Merit, in 2018.

“The ABM Medal of Merit is not only a recognition of the importance of INT over these 100 years but also shows a direction to the future of this partnership, based on the common objective of disseminating technical-scientific knowledge and strengthening innovation along with the metals, materials and mining industries,” she points out.

ABM’s CEO, Horacidio Barbosa Leal Filho, explains that the ABM Medals highlight outstanding professionals or entities, both from industry and academia, who contribute to the mining, metallurgical, and materials sector in Brazil.
“These medals are our greatest recognition to people and entities that help develop the country's technical-scientific knowledge,” he adds.

The 6th ABM WEEK is hosted by Gerdau and is sponsored by the following companies: Açokorte, Alkegen, Amepa GmbH, Aperam, ArcelorMittal, Atomat Services, AutoForm, BM Group/Polytec,BRC, BR Event Materials ,CBMM, Combustol, Clariant, Danieli, Dassault Systèmes, DME Engenharia, Eirich, Enacom, Engineering, Evonik, Fosbel, GSI, Harsco, Hatch/CISDI, Ibar, Imerys, IMS Messsysteme GmbH, Isra Vision Parsytec, John Cockerill Industry, Kuttner, Metso Outotec, Nalco Water/Ecolab, Nouryon, Primetals Technologies, PSI Metals, Reframax , RHI Magnesita, Saint-Gobain, SMS Group Paul Wurth/ Vetta, Spraying Systems, Suez, SunCoke, Tecnosulfur, Ternium, Timken, Thermo Fischer, TopSolid, TRB, Unimetal, Usiminas, Vale, Vamtec, Vesuvius, Villares Metals, Wallonia.be (ADI – Industrial Services, John Cockerill Hydrogen, BorderSystem, Datanet International, Synthetis e PEPITe), White Martins, e Yellow Solution.Special support: CNPq. Institutional support: Abal, Abendi, Abifa, AIST, AIST Mena, Alacero, CBCA, Ibram, Icz, Instituto Aço Brasil, CIMM, Ind4.0.