Marcelo Knobel is Rector of the University of Campinas (Unicamp), in Brazil, institution to which he has been linked for more than three decades. Knobel joined Unicamp as an undergraduate student at the age of 17. He soon got involved in the university’s main student organization, participating actively in several political discussions and activities carried out throughout the campus.

After obtaining both his bachelor’s and his PhD degrees in Physics from Unicamp, Knobel spent some time in Europe as a postdoctoral researcher, where he had the opportunity to experience other cultures. He joined Unicamp again upon his return to Brazil, but this time as a faculty member.

Prior to becoming Rector, Knobel held several leadership roles at Unicamp. He was the first Executive Director of the Unicamp Exploratory Science Museum and served as Vice-Rector for Undergraduate Programs, just to mention a few examples. While in this last position, he was responsible for implementing an innovative interdisciplinary program, named ProFIS, which combines social inclusion with general higher education. This initiative gained him the 2013 Peter Muranyí Prize in Education.

Knobel held other important roles outside of Unicamp as well, including Vice-President of the Brazilian Physics Society and Executive Director of the Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (LNNano) at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM). He is currently a member of the CNPEM Board of Directors.

A highly productive researcher with a strong interest in science dissemination and higher education studies, Knobel has already published more than 250 scientific papers, in addition to numerous opinion pieces in both national and international newspapers and magazines. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (Elsevier) and of Scientific Reports (Nature), and he was editor-in-chief of Ciência & Cultura, a science and technology magazine published by the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) during 10 years.