About GEMA

The Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies Group (GEMA) was created by professors from the Geology area of the Department of Geography (DGE/CCH/UEM) in 1987, with the objective of developing research on the natural resources of the region where UEM is located. With this purpose, professors José Cândido Stevaux, Issa Chaiben Jabur, Manoel Luiz dos Santos, Paulo Nakashima, and Sergio Luiz Thomaz (DGE) gathered with faculty members Erwin Lenzi (DQI), Evaristo Atêncio Paredes (DEC), and Alice Michiyo Takeda (DBI) to establish the general guidelines for the creation of a thematic nucleus focused on geosciences. Professor Sergio Luiz Thomaz suggested the name "Grupo de Estudos Multidisciplinares do Ambiente" with the acronym GEMA, which was unanimously accepted. GEMA's headquarters was located in Block 24, which already had professors' offices and some laboratories. Thus, GEMA was born, and August 29, 1987, was marked as its official creation date. Through RESOLUTION N. 028/2010-COU, signed by Rector Neusa Altoé, it was established as a supplementary body of UEM.

The project "Geoenvironmental and ecotoxicological analysis of the Paraná River alluvial plain in the region of Porto Rico – PR," a multidisciplinary initiative approved by Finep, was the initial step for the creation and consolidation of GEMA. For scientific validation, a field trip was organized to survey the study area, with invitations extended to prominent figures from the national and international geosciences community. Professors Rodolfo José Angulo (UFPR), Vicente Fúlfaro (UNESP/Rio Claro-SP), Kinitiro Suguio (USP), and Paul Edwin Potter (University of Cincinnati/Ohio-USA) were present. These researchers, along with the DGE professors and Professor Alice, were accommodated at the facilities of the Clube do Baía, on the right bank of Mutum Island, a lodging for a group of fishermen from Maringá. The travel was done in two boats, provided and commanded by Mr. Paulo Erasmo Campos and his brother Dr. Emir Alan Campos, respectively. The first boat carried professors Issa, Paul, Kinitiro, Vicente, and Rodolfo, while the second boat carried faculty members Stevaux, Manuel, Alice, Paulo, and Sergio, in addition to the young Alexandre Augusto Campos, who was substituting for Dr. Emir at the vessel's command. The route included descending the Paraná River; entering the mouth of the Baía River; detouring through the Curutuba Channel to the mouth of the Ivinheima River; entering the latter until the Ipuitã Channel, returning to the Paraná River, and proceeding to Mutum Island. Due to a very strong "south wind" and the onset of night, the journey along the Paraná River became problematic, turning into a real and dangerous adventure that was described by geologist Potter in an article published in The New York Times.

GEMA operates mainly in the upper Paraná River watershed, where research projects are developed in Slope Dynamics, Fluvial Geomorphology, Geoenvironmental Analysis, Quaternary Evolution, among others. Other projects have been developed in other rivers, such as the Ivaí, Paranapanema, and Ivinhema, with funding from CNPq and Fundação Araucária. With the evolution of its work, the group has achieved excellence and national and international recognition for its research on Fluvial Geomorphology, Geoenvironmental Analysis, and the Quaternary Evolution of Large Fluvial Systems.

GEMA is also active in planning in municipalities across Paraná. Rural and urban planning studies have been carried out in the municipalities of Maringá, Campo Mourão, Umuarama, Paranavaí, Cianorte, Nova Esperança, and Cidade Gaúcha. These studies were summarized in Explanatory Notes and Atlases and developed through agreements, such as the one established with Mineropar (now IAT).

Linked to the development of scientific research, one of GEMA's main activities is human resources training, through the participation of its researchers in UEM's undergraduate programs, such as in Geography and Chemistry. In this sense, its researchers support the development of doctorates, master's degrees, internships, scientific initiation projects, and final course projects.

As an African proverb wisely says:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

We thank Prof. Sergio Luiz Thomaz for his contribution with the memorable facts of GEMA.

In 2025, following the University's nomenclatural restructuring under Resolution No. 24/2025–CI / CCH, GEMA became known as the GEMA Institute.