In April 2024, the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) launched the first call for proposals under the Quantum Technologies Initiative (QuTIa), a new program to develop quantum technologies in the state of São Paulo and across Brazil. The call aimed to recruit up to five early-career researchers with outstanding international achievements to establish new quantum technology laboratories at universities in São Paulo state.
According to Agência FAPESP, one of the selected researchers was Colombian physicist Hans Marin Florez from the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), whose team plans to develop Brazil’s first atomic magnetometer at different size scales, combining the sensor with compressed light.
QuTIa coordinator Gustavo Wiederhecker of UNICAMP described the call as a first step toward building capacity in quantum engineering within Brazil. The initiative built on a roadmap document produced at a symposium organized by the Principia Institute and ICTP-SAIFR in January-February 2023.