One of the greatest Brazilian scientists, the physic Césare Mansueto Giulio Lattes, also known as César Lattes, became an icon in the world’s scientific production and a symbol to Brazil, and an inspiration and stimulation for the following generations.

Lattes, in the period of the Second World War, started researches that contributed to the advance of the science relating to the atomic structure. The discovery of the ‘meson pi’ (an ephemeral particle, with mass between the electron’s and the proton’s) was essential for the studies about radiation. To perform his researches, Lattes, with notorious enterprising spirit, created the Chaclataya laboratory, in Bolivia. Jointly with other researchers, he obtained important advances as the artificial reproduction of the pions. Working with the Japanese scientists, he made discoveries such as the “Fireballs” phenomenon, name given to the clouds of mesons within the atoms. Despite being a critic of Einstein, his researches were critical for the development of the ‘Relativity Theory’, for they were precursor of the conception of the ‘quarks’. Thus, they present foundations of the theories about the creation and expansion of the universe.

Lattes’ contributions are not restricted to the academic means, for in the period of 1945-1946, there was a strong interaction between science and politics. The researchers had the notion that the science, in order to progress, must come from political precepts capable of achieving a logistic and financial support in strategic issues for the national development. In 1946, he created the CBPF (Brazilian Physic Researches Center), as the first independent center for research in physics, now linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology. His participations before organizations of fomentation to research have also been decisive as an integral part of the commission responsible for the institution of the CNPq. He participated in the period of foundation, in the first meetings, and, later, as a member of the Deliberative Council from 1953 to 1955. He had a great performance in universities such as USP, in the chair of the Physics Department of the School of Philosophy, in which he implemented the nuclear emulsions laboratory, and UNICAMP, in the direction of the Department of Chronology, Cosmic Rays and High Energies of the Physics Institute, where he created the Synchroton laboratory. From 1950 to 1959, he was present in the Cosmic Rays Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, in which he demonstrated the necessity of integration in partnerships and cooperation among nations for the scientific development. He received several national and international acknowledgments for the legacy of his contributions.
The history of César Lattes is bound to the history of Science in Brazil and worldwide.