# Cutting-edge projects presented on a steel conference in Brazil

About 250 top bridge and steel structural engineers were presented in Pinheiros, São Paulo, Brazil, between 16 and 17 of May, for attending the XI Brazilian Conference on Bridges and Structures (CBPE).
$$The event was promoted by ABECE (Brazilian Association of Consulting Engineers) and ABPE (Brazilian Association of Bridges and Structures – Brazilian Group of IABSE).In the two days of the Conference, 13 main lectures were given by major Brazilian and foreign specialists in the construction and design of bridges and other structures. Among other interesting presentations, special lectures were given by eminent specialists, for instance from Spain (Engineer Hugo Corres Peiretti) and from Portugal (Engineer Luis de Oliveira Santos and Professor Rui Calçada).Two really unusual and interesting structures grabbed a lot of attention from most of the participants.The first of them was the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, designed by the famous Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava. The whole structure changes and continually follows the sun to generate photovoltaic energy. The second was the Sirius project – nuclear particle accelerator, a cutting-edge technology research center in Campinas, Brazil. Sirius is a diffraction-limited storage ring synchrotron light source, costing approx. R1.8 billion. The project was funded by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication (Brazil), and the São Paulo Research Foundation. In parallel with the main lectures, stands displaying the products of the XI CBPE sponsors could be visited. In all the two of the Conference, the rooms were full of very interested and participant people.IDEA StatiCa was represented on the event in cooperation with our local reseller MULTIPLUS as the only software exhibitor on the event. Presenting most of the main IDEA StatiCa features, attendees got most impressed by solutions of special connections for large curved space trusses and connection design for steel bridges. The next CBPE is foreseen to occur in 2020, in Rio de Janeiro.$$