Sector: General Head Office
Data de Contratação: 01/09/1989
Matrícula: 258829
Minicurrículo
Maurício Antônio Lopes is a senior researcher at Embrapa Agroenergy, with a solid track record in science, innovation, and public policy for the advancement of agriculture and the bioeconomy in Brazil and globally. He served as President of Embrapa for two consecutive terms (2012 to 2018), leading major institutional developments such as the creation of Thematic Networks, Research Portfolios, the Embrapa Management System (SEG), the Agropensa Strategic Intelligence Platform, the Integro Evaluation System, and Joint Research Units (UMIPs), among other organizational and managerial innovations.He holds a degree in Agronomy from the Federal University of Viçosa (1983), a Masters in Genetics from Purdue University (1989), and a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of Arizona (1993), with postdoctoral training in Italy and Austria. He began his career as a maize breeder at EPAMIG and later at Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, where he coordinated breeding programs focused on the development of tropical maize varieties and hybrids with improved aluminum tolerance and phosphorus use efficiency. He made pioneering contributions to the understanding of the genetic and biochemical basis of maize endosperm development, including the molecular characterization of the opaque-2 and floury-2 mutations.He has a strong presence in research networks, innovation platforms, and policy design, with broad international engagement. He has served as Visiting Scientist at FAO (Rome) and at IIASA (Austria), and as Coordinator of Embrapas Labex Program in South Korea. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Agriculture (since 2015) and the Brazilian Academy of Agronomic Science (since 2024), and serves on the boards of the CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (France), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IITA (Nigeria), and the International Water Management Institute IWMI (Sri Lanka).He has received several distinctions, including an Honorary Doctorate in Agriculture from Purdue University (USA, 2018), the Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award (Purdue, 2014), the Order of Rio Branco (Commander, 2017), and the Ordre du Mérite Agricole granted by the French Republic (2014).With a strong commitment to science communication, he is a regular contributor to Correio Braziliense newspaper and a columnist for Globo Rural magazine. He currently focuses on advancing strategic agendas in bioenergy, bioproducts, sustainability, and the integration of agriculture into the bioeconomy, both in Brazil and internationally.
Formação Acadêmica
1979 - 1983
Graduação em Engenharia Agronômica
Universidade Federal de Viçosa
Ano de obtenção: 1983
1988 - 1989
Mestrado em Genética Vegetal
Purdue University
Título: Fractionationation and characterization of storage proteins in hard-endosperm opaque-2 maize
Ano de obtenção: 1989
Orientador: Dr. Brian Larkins
1990 - 1993
Doutorado em Genética Molecular
University of Arizona
Título: Genetic and biochemical characterization of the maize mutants floury-2 and modified opaque-2
Ano de obtenção: 1993
Orientador: Dr. Brian Larkins
2007 - 2008
Pós-Doutorado em
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Ano de obtenção: 2008
2018 - 2019
Pós-Doutorado em
International Institute For Applied Systems Analysis
Ano de obtenção: 2019
Áreas de Conhecimento
- Grande área: Applied Social Sciences / Área: Administration / Subárea: Gestão De P&D / Especialidade: Gestão De P&D E Da Inovação Tecnológica
- Grande área: Applied Social Sciences / Área: Administration / Subárea: Estudos Prospectivos
- Grande área: Applied Social Sciences / Área: Law / Subárea: Propriedade Intelectual E Proteção Do Conhecimento
- Grande área: Biological Sciences / Área: Genetics / Subárea: Plant Genetics / Especialidade: Plant Genetic Resources
- Grande área: Biological Sciences / Área: Genetics / Subárea: Plant Genetics / Especialidade: Plant Genetic Improvement