Aloir Antonio Merlo is a full professor at Institute of Chemistry, UFRGS, Brazil. His research is focused on design, synthesis and characterization of liquid crystals molecules. Currently his students are dealing with the synthesis of polar smectic mesophases, the use of Diels-Alder reaction, [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangment, and the exploration of glycerol as a template fo polyfunctional materials. All of them are chemically connected to the cousin molecules isoxazoline and isoxazole that have been studing since 2005. External collaborations are fundamental to our sucess in the arena of liquid crystals. Many thanks to the groups of Prof. Ivan H. Bechtold (Physics Department, UFSC, Brazil), Dr. Richard J. Mandle (Chemistry Department, York, UK), Dr. Neil T. Kamp, Dr. Ali Adawi, Prof. Stephen M. Kelly (School of Mathematics/ Physical Sciences and Chemistry Department, Hull, UK) and Prof. David M. Walba (SMRC, CU Boulder, USA), as well as our agencies for grant – CNPq, CAPES, FAPERGS and my institution UFRGS. In his spare time Aloir is involved in Bonsai art.

aloir.merlo@ufrgs.br
http://www.iq.ufrgs.br/lasomi/