Fernando Goncalves Morais

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Environmental Science and Technologies Department
Bldg. 815, Room 1-11
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-2613
(631) 710-8979
fmorais@bnl.gov

Expertise | Research | Education | Publications | Highlights | Awards

Expertise

Physicist, PhD in Science and technician, managing experiments in towers such as the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), boats, and airplane measurements. I served as a part of the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo (USP) team for 16 years to support operations at several sites, including remote environments in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal, the most extensive wetlands in the world. I had a direct role in installing, calibrating, operating, and troubleshooting issues to ensure high-quality data collected from the complex instrumentation, including aerosol, greenhouse gases, and clouds. Working with this set of instrumentation has allowed me to develop specialized technical experience, logistic planning skills, and creative problem-solving abilities. I am familiar with Condensation Particle Counter (CPC), Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), Nephelometers, Aethalometers, Optical Particle Sizers (OPS), Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2), Cloud Condensation Nuclei Particle Counter (CCN), Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitors (ACSM), aerosol mass spectrometers (AMS), Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide and Methane Analyzers, Nitrogen Oxides Monitor (NOX), Ozone Monitor, Hg Analyzer, particle and cloud droplet counters, LIDAR measurements, meteorological instruments, and Sun/Moon Photometer.

Research Activities

• Fieldwork in experiments with measurements of atmospheric chemistry and physics.
• Statistical analysis of experimental data.
• Preventive and corrective maintenance in instrumentation used for atmospheric physics and chemistry measurements.
• Calibration of sophisticated measuring instruments.
• Mechanical design development.
• Responsible for maintaining the Brazilian section of the AERONET Sun-Photometer network in partnership with NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center.

Education

Ph.D. in Science (Nuclear Technology), Lasers and Applications Center at Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN-USP), 2017-2022.
Thesis: Absorption properties of Brown Carbon and Black Carbon study using remote sensing and in situ measurements in the Amazonia.

Bachelor of Physics, Qualification in applied physics and instrumentation. University of São Paulo, Institute of Physics, 2001-2006.

Technical Course in Electronics: 
Electronic projects with microcontrollers and microprocessors, installation, maintenance, and testing of electronic equipment and systems, including signal transmission. Measurements, tests, and calibrations of electronic devices.

Technical Course in Mechanical Technology:
Metrology, pneumatics, hydraulics, lathe, planer, mechanical adjustment.

Selected Publications

• Morais FG, Franco MA, Palácios R, et al (2022) Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia. Atmosphere 13:1328. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081328
• Morais FG, Sakano VK, Lima LN de, et al (2021) Filtration efficiency of a large set of COVID-19 face masks commonly used in Brazil. Aerosol Science and Technology 55:1028–1041. https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2021.1915466
• Franco MA, Tavares PHT, Rizzo LV, et al (2025) AERONET sun photometer as a didactic tool for understanding aerosol refractive index in the atmosphere: a case study for central Amazon. Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física 47:. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9126-rbef-2024-0341
• Artaxo P, Hansson H-C, Andreae MO, et al (2022) Tropical and Boreal Forest – Atmosphere Interactions: A Review. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology 74:24. https://doi.org/10.16993/tellusb.34
• Holanda BA, Pöhlker ML, Walter D, et al (2020) Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 20:4757–4785. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4757-2020
• Franco MA, Valiati R, Holanda BA, et al (2024) Vertically resolved aerosol variability at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory under wet-season conditions. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 24:8751–8770. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8751-2024
• Sprovieri F, Pirrone N, Bencardino M, et al (2016) Atmospheric mercury concentrations observed at ground-based monitoring sites globally distributed in the framework of the GMOS network. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 16:11915–11935. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11915-2016

Research Highlights

Since Jan 2008, Physicist, Atmospheric Physics Laboratory
- Specialist technician at the University of São Paulo, Institute of Physics.

2007-2009, Lecturer, University Estacio de Sá, São Paulo
- Lectures on mathematics, mathematical logic, administration of information systems, programming logic, and course completion projects.

1999-2000, Electronic Maintenance Technician, Spanish company IRIZAR SA, https://www.grupoirizar.com/en
- Assembly and maintenance of electrical and electronic parts of road buses.

1998-1999, Electromechanical Maintenance Technician, Italian company Giardina, https://www.giardinagroup.com/
- Assembly and maintenance of a painting line in partnership with Giardina.

Awards & Recognition

Shigueo Watanabe Award for Best Thesis of 2022, Nuclear and Energy Research Institute/University of Sao Paulo