About LDSM/UFRGS

The Design and Materials Selection Lab – LDSM (Laboratório de Design e Seleção de Materiais) is a research group of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul). LDSM was founded in 1998 by Prof. Wilson Kindlein Junior and conducts researches related to Materials and Design. The current research group leader is Prof. Fabio Pinto da Silva. LDSM has 7 permanent professors and a staff of approximately 50 members. The team is made up of undergraduate students as well as master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. The staff are primarily designers and engineers, but the multidisciplinary team also contains architects, geologists, biologists, artists, physical and occupational therapists.

Developed activities in LDSM include teaching, research and outreach. The lab interacts with community and the productive sector through projects and services. There is a constant focus on knowledge, innovation and social development. The LDSM team has more than 300 papers published in national and international journals, conference proceedings and books, as well as a number of patents and multiple awards. The laboratory houses a great deal of vital equipment, including three-dimensional scanners, CNC machines, 3D printers, a laser cutter, a thermograph, a climatic chamber, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and other material characterization equipment, such as an infrared spectroscope (FTIR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA).

LDSM is affiliated with a number of UFRGS departments, including the Materials Department at the Engineering School – DEMAT/EE (Departamento de Materiais, Escola de Engenharia); the Design and Graphic Expression Department at the Faculty of Architecture – DEG/FA (Departamento de Design e Expressão Gráfica, Faculdade de Arquitetura); the Postgraduate Program in Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering – PPGE3M (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Minas, Metalúrgica e de Materiais); and the Postgraduate Program in Design – PGDESIGN (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Design). Activities are sponsored mostly by brazilian agencies like the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), the Funding Authority for Studies and Projects – FINEP (Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos) and the Research Support Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul – FAPERGS (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul).