Federation for International Refractory Research and Education
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Highlight of FIRE Alumni - Murilo Henrique Moreira - UFSCar - Brasil
Academic life is a continuous cycle of learning, discovering and transmitting knowledge. I entered this dance in 2014 when I came across refractories in the first semester of my Bachelor's in Materials Engineering, by joining the research group led by Professor Victor Carlos Pandolfelli at the Federal University of São Carlos. That decision shaped my professional career. High temperature materials were my entrance to discovering three passions: the scientific method, computational simulations, and advanced experimental tests.
FIRE played a decisive role in this journey. Through the network, I took the first flight of my life to spend a year in France. I completed internships at Imerys Aluminates and Saint-Gobain Provence. Besides the professional development, I experienced different cultures and got to meet lifelong friends from the refractory world. FIRE truly embodies this constant exchange between generations, academia & industry, institutions, and countries.
It has always been my dream to give back to the refractories community that welcomed me so warmly into this network. Thanks in large part to collaborations with numerous industry partners, multiple academic mentors, and teamwork with international colleagues during my academic development, I grew both professionally and personally. During this time, I received numerous awards - many of them at international meetings that I could only attend through FIRE and its members' support. More than individual accomplishments, these validated the impact of the FIRE network cooperation. They also played an important role in demonstrating my professional potential, which allowed me to begin a new chapter as an Assistant Professor at the Federal University of São Carlos.
Stepping to the other side of the classroom brings both responsibility and opportunity: to advance research in refractory materials through the combination of state-of-the-art numerical models, world-leading research facilities, and to support students as they begin their own journeys.
I hope to ignite in them the same intellectual curiosity and commitment that FIRE once sparked in me. Contributing to this community now as a faculty member feels like a natural continuation of a cycle constantly fueled by FIRE.
Murilo Henrique Moreira
Assistant Professor
Materials Engineering Department
Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Brasil
Last news
2026 FIRE Student Photo Competition dedicated to high-temperature resistant materials
If you are a student or recent graduate (up to 5 years after graduation), we invite you to submit a photo showing a material being able to withstand the power of FIRE. Both refractory and another high temperature resistant material qualify. Whether it is from a lab or industrial environment, we would love to see what amazes you.
Highlight of the members of the Board of Directors - Victor Carlos Pandolfelli
My journey with FIRE began in 2003, together with Prof. Michel Rigaud and other academic and industrial colleagues. In 2005, our first official meeting in Limoges, France, transformed this vision into reality. From the beginning, FIRE was founded on a strong belief in cooperation between universities and industry towards a better education. Its strength has always come from working across institutional, cultural, and national borders.
Contact us and/or Become Member!
Contact us for any information and/or to Become Member of FIRE: fire@ecers.org
