Professor Wilson Suzigan, who worked at the Institutes of Economics (IE) and Geosciences (IG) at Unicamp, died this Friday (April 10th) at the age of 84. The professor, who joined the University in 1985, was recognized as an emeritus professor at Unicamp in 2024. The wake will be held in Paulínia, from 12 pm to 15 pm, followed by a cremation ceremony exclusively for the family.
Suzigan built an important career in economics and contributed to the debate on industry and industrial policy in the country. His academic work has become a benchmark for understanding the Brazilian industrialization process and the challenges associated with development in peripheral economies. Among his works, "Brazilian Industry: Origin and Development" stands out, widely used in academic training and in the debate on industrial policy.
The professor was born in Americana (SP) on February 26, 1942. His academic career began in 1961, in the undergraduate course in Economic Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas). He was part of the first master's class in Economics in Brazil, at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation of Rio de Janeiro (FGV-RJ), where he defended his dissertation "The import substitution process in Brazil" in 1968. Between 1981 and 1984, he pursued his doctorate at the University of London, producing the thesis "Investment in manufacturing industry in Brazil, 1869-1939".
After completing his master's degree, he worked at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) until 1984 and joined Unicamp in 1985 as a professor at the Institute of Economics (IE). Suzigan taught at the unit until his retirement in 1998, and then remained as a collaborator until 2004, when he transferred to the Department of Science and Technology Policy (DPCT) at the Institute of Geosciences (IG), where he worked until 2022.
The extent of his academic contribution can be seen in his publications and supervisions at Unicamp. Suzigan published 69 academic articles in highly influential Brazilian and international journals, in addition to publishing and organizing 17 books and 38 book chapters that serve as references in the debate on industrialization. He also supervised 27 doctoral theses, 18 master's dissertations, and 42 undergraduate research projects, all at Unicamp. In 2007, he received the title of Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit from the Presidency of the Republic.
Alongside his teaching activities, he was a member of the editorial board of several publications, playing an important role in the creation and editing of two leading scientific journals in the economic debate: "Economia," from the National Association of Graduate Centers in Economics (Anpec), created in 1999 and of which he was editor until 2001, and the "Brazilian Journal of Innovation," created in 2002 and maintained by the IG of Unicamp since 2006.
Upon receiving the title of Professor Emeritus from Unicamp, Suzigan declared: “Before my academic life at Unicamp, I worked in many places. And despite having been in so many institutions, it was here that I felt at home.”
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Wilson Suzigan receives the title of professor emeritus from Unicamp
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