First Workshop on Materials, Mehanisms and Appliations of Superondutivity,
and V Esola Brasileira de Superondutividade
TheFirstWorkshop onMaterials,Mehanismsand AppliationsofSuperondutivity(IWMMAS),and theV
EsolaBrasileiradeSuperondutividade(VEBS),tookplaeat theDepartamento deFsia,UniversidadeFederal
de Pernambuo, in Reife,Brazil, from 10to 14 Deember,2001. Themain objetivewasto foster theativities
in the exiting researh eld of superondutivity in Brazil, aspart of apreliminary program for the
forthom-ing Seventh International Conferene on Materials and Mehanisms of Superondutivity and High Temperature
Superondutors,M2S-HTSC-VII,planned totakeplaein RiodeJaneiro,Brazil,in2003.
About eighty researhers, inluding undergraduate and graduate students, attended the IWMMAS and the
VEBS, and disussed the stateof art in superondutivity, both theoretially and experimentally. The sienti
program inludedbasimehanismsofsuperondutivity,vortexdynamis, materialspreparation and
harateri-zation,andappliationsofsuperondutivity. Theattendeeshadthehanetointeratwithleadingsientistsand
tolearnmanynewexitingideasintheeld,bothfromleturesandalsofrominformaldisussionsthatweremade
possiblebythenieand friendlyatmosphereofthemeeting. It hasbeenaprodutiveandfruitfulevent,withthe
generationof newideasfortheBraziliansuperondutivityommunity.
We are pleasedthat mostof theative Brazilianresearhers in the eld of superondutivity partiipated in
the IWMMAS, and thankful to the internationalletures, Dr. Franisode la Cruz(Centro Atomio Barilohe,
Barilohe,Argentina),Dr. ErnstHelmutBrandt (Max-Plank-InstitutfurMetallforshung, Stuttgart,Germany),
andProf. Vitor V.Moshhalkov(KatholiekeUniversiteit,Leuven,Belgium).
ThepapersofthisspeialissueoftheBraz.J.Phys. giveabroadviewofthepresenttimeresearhin
superon-dutivityinBrazil. Wethankallauthorswhokindlyspenttheirtimetowritetheseinterestingartilesinorder to
registertheourreneoftheevent. Wearespeiallygrateful toProf. SilvioSalinas,editoroftheBraz. J.Phys.,
forhis enouragementandsupport.
J.AlbinoAguiar
