The Rectorship is the highest governing body of the Federal University of ABC. It oversees the management of a wide range of activities within the university.
Its primary function is to foster the advancement of knowledge in a sustainable way, integrating teaching, research, and outreach. These activities are guided by UFABC’s core values of excellence, social inclusion, and interdisciplinarity.
2026–2030 Management
President – Profa. Drª. Paula Homem de Mello
The current Rector of UFABC, Professor Paula Homem de Mello, is a full professor at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry (1999), as well as a Master’s (2002) and a PhD (2006) in Sciences (Physical Chemistry) from IQSC/USP, which included a research internship at the Università di Pisa, Italy.
She has extensive experience in Physical Chemistry, with an emphasis on Computational Simulation, focusing primarily on the following topics: dyes, metal complexes, redox reactions, biomolecules, pharmaceuticals, nanostructured materials, density functional theory-based methods, and continuum solvation models.
She implemented the Tutorial Education Program (PET/MEC) at UFABC and served as vice-director of the Center for Natural and Human Sciences (CCNH/UFABC) from 2014 to 2021. She coordinates the ABCSim research group. In the field of science communication, she coordinates the Guia dos Entusiastas da Ciência (Science Enthusiasts Guide – proec.ufabc.edu.br/gec). She is a member of the Brazilian Chemical Society and the Brazilian Physical Society, and serves as an editor for the Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society. ResearcherID: B-6618-2011.
Vice President – Demétrio Jackson dos Santos
The current Vice-Rector of UFABC, Professor Demétrio Jackson dos Santos, is the director of the Embrapii Unit at UFABC: the Science, Technology, and Innovation Group in Functional Materials (CTIM). He coordinates two R&D&I corporate-academic partnership programs: the Industrial Academic Doctorate (DAI) and the Academic Master’s for Innovation (MAI).
He is an associate professor at the Federal University of ABC, within the Center for Engineering, Modeling, and Applied Social Sciences. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Saarland University under the supervision of Prof. Wulff Possart, focusing on the adhesion of polyurethane derived from lignin and aluminum.
He was a Senior Visiting Professor (funded by CAPES) at the Universitaet fuer Bodenkultur Wien / University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, focusing on the development of nanostructured and chemically modified lignin.
He is a specialist in the Temperature Modulated Optical Refractometry (TMOR/TORC) technique. He is an accredited professor in the Materials Engineering program, specifically in the field of Composite Materials, with a research emphasis on Structural Composites, Interfaces, and Adhesion.
He holds a postdoctoral degree from the Department of Experimental Physics (Thin Films Laboratory) at the University of São Paulo and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo.
He worked in technological development sectors within the private industry for 19 years, at companies such as Henkel, WEG, MWM, VW Nutzfahrzeuge (Hanover), and Mercedes-Benz do Brasil. His last corporate role was as Technology Manager at Henkel, a German chemical multinational, where he was an integral member of the global group for new product, technology, and market development.
Former Presidents
Dácio Roberto Matheus
2018 – 2022 – 2026
Professor Dácio Roberto Matheus was the President of UFABC from 2018 to 2026. He is a professor at the Center for Engineering, Modeling, and Applied Social Sciences (CECS) at UFABC since 2009. At the university, he coordinated the undergraduate program in Environmental Engineering for two years, the Bachelor in Science and Technology (BCT), and the graduate program in Environmental Science and Technology. He was also the University’s Vice-president during the 2014-2018 mandate, and President from 2018 to 2022.
Klaus Capelle
2014 – 2018
Klaus Capelle was the President of UFABC from 2014 to 2018. He obtained his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1997 from the University of Würzburgo, in his country of birth – Germany. He also holds two Master’s degrees in physics, one from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque (USA), the other from the University of Würzburgo. His Ph.D. thesis and his second Master’s dissertation both won the university’s Roentgen Award for best physics dissertation of the year in their respective categories. Following postdoctoral work at the University of São Paulo (USP), in Brazil, he became professor of physics at USP in 2003. Periods as visiting professor or researcher took him to the Universities of Missouri at Columbia (USA), Bristol (UK), Lund (Sweden) and Freie University at Berlin (Germany). For his work as referee of scientific papers he received the Outstanding Referee Award of the American Physical Society and the Certificate of Appreciation of the American Chemical Society. In 2009 he moved to the then recently founded UFABC to help building a new institutional and organizational model for interdisciplinary research and teaching. At UFABC he served as research provost from 2010 until 2014, when he was elected President for the period 2014-2018.
Helio Waldman
2010 – 2014
Graduated in Electronic Engineering from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) in 1966. Master and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1968 and 1971, respectively. In 2005, joined the Implementation Commission of the Federal University of ABC, where he was Provost for Research until February 2009; Provost for Undergraduate Education until 2010; and elected President until 2014.
Adalberto Fazzio
2008 – 2010
Bachelor and Master in Physics from the University of Brasília in 1973 and 1975, respectively. Ph.D. in physics from the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1978. In 2008 he became director of the Center for Natural Sciences and Humanities (CCNH) at the Federal University of ABC. In August of the same year, he was appointed President pro tempore after the leave of the President Luiz Bevilacqua for medical reasons.
Luiz Bevilacqua
2007 – 2008
He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in 1959, a specialization in bridges and large structures from TH Stuttgart (1961), and a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Stanford University (1971). He was the Coordinator of the academic structuring committee for the implementation of UFABC and was responsible for implementing the UFABC Center for Computing and Cognition.
Hermano de Medeiros Ferreira Tavares
2006 – 2007
Hermano de Medeiros Ferreira Tavares was the first President of UFABC. He obtained his Degree in Electronic Engineering (1964) from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), became master and Ph.D. from the University of Toulouse (France) in 1966 and 1968 respectively. He was appointed pro tempore Dean of the Federal University of ABC in 2006.