Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.
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Head of National Institute for Space Research in Brazil Terminated for Reporting Amazon Deforestation Findings

Ricardo Magnus Osorio Galvao, head of the National Institute for Space Research and a well known and respected physicist was terminated and accused of lying by the President. CCS has written his former boss and a former astronaut requesting further information on the dismissal of Galvao.

August 24, 2019

Marcos Cesar Pontes
Ministério da Ciência, Technology, Inovações e Comunicações
Esplanada dos Ministérios
Bloco E, CEP: 70067-900
Brasília, DF, Brazil
Tel.: +55 61 2033-7500
Twitter: @mctic

Dear Minister Pontes:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our concern over the dismissal of Ricardo Magnus Osorio Galvão as head of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Ricardo Galvão is also a well-known physicist both in Brazil and internationally and his dismissal has profoundly disturbed his colleagues throughout the world.

As an engineer and an astronaut, you certainly must understand how vital it is that scientists have the absolute freedom to pursue their investigations and disclose their findings without interference, so that governments and societies can operate on the basis of scientific truths and realities – whatever they may be. We are very concerned that Ricardo Galvão may have been dismissed for purely political reasons, and we seek from you an explanation of exactly why this has happened.

If indeed Ricardo Galvão was dismissed for the results of his agency’s scientific endeavors, he should be immediately reinstated and allowed to pursue his work without interference or intimidation.

We thank you for your consideration of this important matter and look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

cc:

First Class Minister Nestor Forster Jr.
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i.
Embassy of Brazil in Washington, DC
3006 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel.: +1 (202) 238-2700
Fax: +1 (202) 238-2827
Email: ambassador.dc@itamaraty.gov.br
Twitter: @BrazilinUSA

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate