SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL—Brazil has announced that Marco Antônio Raupp, currently president of the Brazilian Space Agency, will become the new minister of science, technology and innovation on 24 January. Unlike the man he will replace, Aloizio Mercadante, a leading figure in the Worker's Party with little background in science, Raupp, 73, has more than 40 years of experience in the field. His appointment has pleased the scientific community, which never warmed to his predecessor.
A native of the relatively developed south of the country, Raupp graduated in physics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and got his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago. He has taught at universities in Brazil's three most important cities, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília, and has worked on a number of important scientific and research institutions.
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