Ambassador Fernando de Mello Barreto, Brazil’s consul general in Boston, will visit campus today to talk about the economy of Brazil, current events and Brazilian students who study abroad.

To welcome the diplomat, dining services will prepare a Brazilian style lunch where Berkshire Dining Commons will serve feijoada, a Brazilian black bean stew, a squash soup, couve or saut’ed kale and pudim, a flan-like dessert.

During the course of his visit Mello Barreto will deliver several speeches, in both English and Portuguese, to students and faculty.

He will discuss, in Portuguese, Brazilian current events from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Graduate Reading room of the Campus Center.

Mello Barreto will give a public talk from 3 to 4 p.m. in 162-75 in the Campus Center about Brazil role in international affairs and how it has increased over the past few years and Brazil’s economy.

He will also meet with faculty to talk about his country’s Science Without Borders program that aims to send 100,000 Brazilian students abroad to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is Brazil’s hope that many of these students will be able to go abroad using scholarships, and the president has already pledged to fund 75,000 scholarships.

The University of Massachusetts already has connections with Brazil according to Jack Ahern, vice provost for international programs. Ahern is seeking to recruit Brazilian students to the University and Ahern reports that Paul Siqueira of electrical and computer engineering has worked with the Brazilian space agency and the Brazilian Institute for Research in the Amazon to produce a radar map of the Amazon region.

–          Collegian News Staff