Eleonora Kurtenbach
Associate Professor
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janiewro
Departamento de Bioquímica Medica
21941-590 - Cidade Universitária
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
http://www.cienciaviva.org.br

Eleonora Kurtenbach is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Department of Medical Biochemistry at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), where she is in charge of a research laboratory. Her main research interests are in the field of antifungal natural peptides from plants, yeast stress response and cardiac autoimmune diseases. Since 1992 she has advisored 07 MSc and 05 PhD student thesis. Since 1984 a new area of interest started at the Department to engage several teachers and students in a creative project that gave “summer holyday science courses” to secondary teachers and students based on their own questions. Latter a post-graduate program called Education, Management and Divulgation of Science was established with the participation of several scientists and educators. In parallel, during her MSc training (1983-1985) Eleonora was involved in popularization of science and joined the group “Living Science Space” (Espaço Ciência Viva, ECV), a group of professional scientists who have come together to form a non-profit society whose basic aim is the participation in and spread of science. Members of this group shared a common wish to make the knowledge, methods and practice of science accessible to everyone. This group was well known by holding events in the open air in an attempt to allow ordinary people to experience science for themselves in an environment that would not be intimidating. In 1985, Espaço Ciência Viva (ECV) became the first interactive science museum in Brazil. It is held in Rio de Janeiro and comprised nowadays about 30 individuals from different areas and institutions, including teachers, undergraduate, postgraduate students, researches and technicians. Since 2002 Eleonora is the vice-president of ECV and increased the strong cooperation between the ICB/UFRJ and ECV. Together, they have organized workshops, special thematic events, teacher training, school and open-air activities have been organized. In this context, some post-graduate thesis were also developed. In the five last years, Eleonora started to join her experience in Science Museum Divulgation and Educational Research. Her last works involved the historical study and evaluation of interactive exhibits about alcoholic fermentation, the organization of thematic events (How to look after your heart, Tobacco or health? Choose yourself, In the waves of the sound, Art and sexuality, etc...), assays about the informal education and more recently about the content and link network in Brazilian Science Museum webpages.

Eleonora will present Learning From Links: Content And Link Network Analysis.