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Our office

Historically, the first CNRS representative office in Latin America was set up in Santiago de Chile in 2002, with a regional vocation. At the same time, Brazil consolidated its prominent position in Latin America, and established itself as a strategic partner for the CNRS, which consequently decided to set up a permanent office there. The CNRS office was first established in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 2010. Then on September 1, 2024, the office was transferred to São Paulo, and is now located at the heart of the University of São Paulo in a space called “La Maison du CNRS”.

Since 2015, the office has become regional and also ensures CNRS representation for all South American countries.

Our missions

Support

Reception and orientation of CNRS researchers on assignment in the region

Consolidate

Advice for managers of existing cooperation structures in the region

Prospect

Identification of future strategic partnerships based on the scientific and geographical priorities of CNRS and its partners in the region

Our team

Liviu Nicu

Director of CNRS Office for South America

Pascal Singer

Scientific Cooperation Officer

Contact us

Our main partners

CNRS's main partners in South America: Universities

In South America, CNRS’s main collaborative partners are the universities, major players in the South American research landscape.

CNRS is UFRJ’s leading international partner
Collaborations CNRS – UFRJ
CNRS currently shares 3 IRP and 1 IRN with UFRJ.
The State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) is a public university in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the country and in Latin America. It has campuses in eight of the state’s cities, the largest of which is located in the Maracanã district of Rio de Janeiro.
Collaborations CNRS – UERJ
CNRS currently shares 1 IRN with UERJ.

The University of São Paulo, with over 99,000 students and a dozen campuses, provides a quarter of all Brazilian academic output. Production is open to international collaborations, with 45% of projects conducted with at least one foreign partner. France is USP’s 4th partner country, and CNRS is its leading foreign co-publisher, ahead of Harvard University and the University of Michigan. It accounts for almost 50% of CNRS’s structuring cooperation programs in Brazil.

Our International Research Center (IRC)

Initially organized around seven main disciplines – human and social sciences, environmental sciences, sciences of the universe, information sciences, quantum technologies, biology and agriculture/decarbonation – the center will be co-administered by the two governing bodies, assisted by a steering committee and a scientific council made up of members from outside the two institutions. The center will run for a period of five years, renewable after joint approval, and will include jointly established research programs supported by joint doctoral programs, collaborative projects co-funded by CNRS, USP and the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation ( FAPESP), etc.

Collaborations CNRS – USP

There is currently structured cooperation between CNRS and USP as follows (omitting the SPRINT FAPESP-CNRS projects, which can be included if necessary):

1 International Emergency Action

Human and Social Sciences

2023-2024 Time, Variation and Acquisition: New approaches to the study of TAME across languages between the Laboratoire de Linguistique des Langues (LLING), UMR6310, Nantes and the University of Sao Paulo (Faculdade de Filosofia Letras e Ciências Humanas). Managers: Marta Donazzan (France)/Ana Lucia Müller (Brazil)

5 International Research Projects

Biological Sciences

2019-2023 IRP IMMUNE RESPONSE TO DANGER SIGNALS between the Laboratory of Experimental and Molecular Immunology and Neurogenetics (CNRS, U. d’Orléans – Valérie Quesniaux) and the Departamento de Farmacologia da Faculdade de Medecina de Ribeirao Preto, USP (Fernando Q Cunha).

Human and Social Sciences

2021-2025, IRP AMIS, Archives-Médias-Images-Sociétés project between the Laboratoire de recherche historique Rhône-Alpes (LARHRA) (UMR5190-CNRS, Univ. Pierre-Mendes-France, Univ. Lumiere Lyon 2, Univ. Lyon 3 Jean Moulin, ENS LYON) (Isabelle Gaillard) and the Centro de Pesquisa em Estudos Culturais e Transformações na Comunicação (TRACC) Universidade Federal da Bahia (Itania Gomes).

2022-2026, IRP PATHOS, Passions, actions et réactions dans le monde antique entre le Centre Léon Robin de recherche sur la pensée antique (UMR 8061 CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sorbonne) (Cristina Viano) et Departamento de Filosofia, Faculdade de Filosofia Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH) Universidade de São Paulo (Marco Antonio de Avila Zingano) et le Classics, School of History, Classics, and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh (Royaume-Uni) (Douglas Cairns) et l’UNAM (Mexique), la PUC et UCLA (Etats-Unis).

2022-2026, IRP ALCOM, Contributions de l’Amérique latine à l’esquisse d’un droit commun entre le Centre Malher (UMR8103 CNRS, Univ. Pantheon-Sorbonne) (Kathia Martin-Chenut) et le CEPEDISA Universidade de São Paulo, Centro de Antropologie et de Arqueologia Forense (CAAF) Université fédérale de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP) et le Programa de Pos-Graduaçao (UNISINOS) (Deisy Ventura et Claudia Perrone Moises).

Sciences of the Universe

2023 – 2027, IRP SARAVA, Drivers of past changes in South Atlantic Circulation and tropical South American climate between LOCEAN (UMR7159 CNRS, MNHN, IRD) (Ioanna Bouloubassi) and the Federal University of Fluminense (Ana Luiza Albuquerque).

The Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) is a Brazilian public institution of higher education, located in the city of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, and considered one of the best universities in the country and in Latin America. It is one of four universities run by the São Paulo state government, along with the University of São Paulo (USP), the University of the State of São Paulo (Unesp) and the Virtual University of the State of São Paulo (Univesp).

https://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/

The UBA is Argentina’s largest university and one of the most prestigious in the Americas. In 2019, it ranked 73rd in the QS World University Rankings, which ranked it as the best university in Latin America based on the quality of its teaching, its level of research and its internationalization. Nearly 30% of the country’s scientific research is carried out at this institution.

The University of Chile is a Chilean institution of higher education, created by law on November 19, 1842 and established on September 17, 1843. It is the oldest in the country, and its headquarters and most of its facilities are located in the Santiago metropolitan area.

The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is a private university in Chile, and one of thirteen Catholic universities in the country’s university system.

Key players in South American research, excluding universities

South American research institutes and funding agencies

The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (until 1974, the National Research Council, whose acronym has remained CNPq) is an organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) responsible for promoting research in Brazil.
CNPq is considered one of the strongest institutions in the field of scientific and technological research among developing countries, and its main objective is to promote scientific and technological research in Brazil.

The São Paulo Research Foundation is a public foundation located in São Paulo, Brazil, with the aim of providing grants, funds and programs to support research, education and innovation in private and public institutions and companies in the State of São Paulo.

The Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support in the State of Rio de Janeiro, better known by its acronym FAPERJ, is a research funding organization operating in the State of Rio de Janeiro. It is linked to the State Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Created in 1980, the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for the Support of Research in the State of Rio de Janeiro – FAPERJ – is the State of Rio de Janeiro’s science, technology and innovation development agency. Linked to the State Secretariat for Science and Technology, the agency aims to stimulate activities in the scientific and technological fields, and to provide broad support for projects and programs at academic and research institutions based in the State of Rio de Janeiro. To this end, it awards grants and subsidies to researchers and institutions, in accordance with the basic program.

Linked to the Pernambuco State Science and Technology Secretariat (SECTEC), the institutional mission of the Pernambuco Science and Technology Support Foundation (FACEPE) is to promote the State’s scientific and technological development by fostering science, technology and innovation, in close harmony with the State’s socio-economic needs.

The National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) is the main body responsible for promoting science and technology in Argentina, under the aegis of the National Cabinet of Ministers.

Established as a self-supporting organization, its activities focus on: awarding scholarships for doctoral and post-doctoral studies, supporting the careers of scientific and technological researchers and research support staff, funding projects and research implementation units, and establishing links with international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Chile’s National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) is responsible for managing and implementing programs and instruments designed to promote, foster and develop research in all areas of knowledge, technological development and scientific and technological innovation, in line with the policies defined by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation.

The Agency is the continuation of the former National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT).

The National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) is a Uruguayan government entity that promotes research and the application of new knowledge, making funds available to the public for research projects, national and international postgraduate scholarships, and programs to encourage a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in both the private and public sectors.