Professor of Physics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) since 2002, he founded the Laboratory of NanoSpectroscopy (LabNS) in 2006, where he works with research and development of scientific instrumentation in optics for the study of nanostructures with applications in new materials and biomedicine. He earned a doctoral degree in physics from the same institution in 1999, working with phase transitions in incommensurate systems, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA (2000-2001), working with optical properties of nanomaterials, focusing on Raman spectroscopy and optical properties of carbon nanomaterials.
He held the positions of Coordinator of Strategic Studies and Information at Inmetro (2008-2009) and, at UFMG, of Director of Technological Transfer and Innovation (2010-2012), head of the Physics Department (2015-2016), Dean of Research (2016-2018), head of the Graduate Program in Physics (2019-2022) and of the Graduate Program in Technology Inovation (2021-2023).
He is a member of the The World Academy of Sciences, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the National Order of Scientific Merit (Comendador class) and received the "membership award to the American Chemical Society" (2015-2018). In 2016 he was included in the list of "Highly Cited Researchers" of Thomson Reuters. He received several awards for his scientific contributions, national (the Inconfidência Medal of the State of Minas Gerais Government - 2016, Professor Francisco Romeu Landi Award from the National Council of State Funding Agencies - 2021; Joaquim da Costa Ribeiro Prize from the Brazilian Physical Society - 2023) and international (Somiya Award from the International Union of Materials Reserach Societies - 2009, Elsevier & CAPES 2009 Scopus Brazil, International Center for Theoretical Physics Prize - 2012, Georg Forster Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation - 2015).