ABOUT RIO DE JANEIRO

One of the major economic and cultural hubs of South America, the city of Rio de Janeiro sits at the heart of the Brazilian Southeastern Region. A cosmopolitan metropolis, known worldwide for its scenic beauty and its natural resources, the city provides a harmonious and agreeable environment for its inhabitants and visitors, for both leisure and work. Whether at night or during the day, the visitor quickly finds out why Rio is known as the Marvelous City.

Rio is nested between the mountains and the ocean. Its magnificent shorelines include charming bays and beautiful beaches, dotted with islands. The city's inhabitants (known as Cariocas) are friendly, carefree people who always seem to find time for the pleasures of good living.

The city receives annually more than 2 million foreign tourists, which makes it the most visited city in the country. With its ample infrastructure of touristic services, Rio is ranked among the top destinations in the world in reception for cultural, commercial, technical and scientific events.

ABOUT CBPF

The Brazilian Center of Physical Research (CBPF) was founded in 1949 as a civil society in order to develop research in fundamental physics. It was the first Brazilian organization to act on graduate studies in physics and to receive authorization of the Brazilian government to issue M.Sc. and Ph.D. diplomas. In the seventies, one of the first and largest active groups working on cosmology and gravitation in Brazil was formed at CBPF. This group organized several international schools in Cosmology and Gravitation, which in 2002 completed 25 years in their tenth edition, disseminating the research in these areas all over the country. In 1976, CBPF became an institute of the Brazilian government, receiving funds from it. It now has 65 active researchers working in many areas of physics and the largest library of physics in the country.