Ana Sanchez
Portugal
Member of Board of Directors of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
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Ana Sanchez is Member of the Board of Directors of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).
Before joining FCT, she was head of the Communications and Science Awareness Office at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB) of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa and a member of the Mostmicro research unit. With a degree in Biology (Universidade de Lisboa, 1996) and a PhD in Biology (Nijmegen, 2001), she worked as a post-doctoral researcher in plant reproduction at ITQB, before accepting in 2005 the challenge to set up the ITQB’s communications office. In this role, she developed ITQB’s institutional communications, established its science communication programme and was an advisor to the Board in several areas. She also implemented different types of Science Communication courses within Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, including the Masters in Science Communication, which operates since 2011.
Honoured Guests and Chairmen
Jose Labastida
Belgium
Head of the Scientific Management Department of the European Research Council
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Professor Jose Labastida is the Head of the Scientific Management Department of the European Research Council since February 2011.
Before joining the European Research Council he was Secretary General for Science and Technology Policy and Director General for Research of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (2008-2011). Previously he was Vice-president for Research of CSIC, the Spanish National Research Council (2004-2008).
Formerly, he was a Researcher and Professor of Theoretical Physics occupying positions at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, CERN, CSIC and the University of Santiago de Compostela.
He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Stony Brook University.
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Sierd Cloetingh
Netherlands
President of the Academia Europaea
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Sierd Cloetingh is Utrecht University Distinguished Professor. His research field is Earth Sciences. He published more than 335 papers in international peer-reviewed journals (11560 citations, h-index 59) and has been promotor of more than 75 PhD students of 18 different nationalities.
Currently he serves as President of the Academia Europaea and President of the COST Association.
In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of the international journal "Global and Planetary Change" and Chairman of the TOPO-EUROPE collaborative research program.
Past functions include Membership of the Scientific Council (2009-2015) and Vice-President of the European Research Council (ERC), President of the International Lithosphere Program (2004-2017), President of the European Geophysical Society (1998-2000) and Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW, 2006-2015).
Sierd Cloetingh received honorary doctorates from five European universities and numerous medals and awards. He is member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, the Royal Norwegian Academy, the Royal Danish Academy, the German national Academy for Technical Sciences, the Heidelberg Academy, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was distinguished in 2006 as Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur and in 2014 as Knight of the Royal Order of the Netherlands Lion for his contributions to science and European scientific cooperation in research and education.
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Artur Silva
Portugal
EURASC
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Artur M. S. Silva is a Full Professor of organic chemistry in the University of Aveiro. He studied chemistry at the University of Aveiro (Portugal), where he graduated in chemistry physics in 1987 and received his PhD in chemistry in 1993. He began his independent career at Aveiro University as an Assistant Professor in 1994. He was appointed to Associate Professor with tenure in 1998 and Full Professor in 2001. He published over 535 papers, 1 ebook and 39 book chapters (h index 41). His research interests range over the chemistry of polyphenolic and nitrogen heterocyclic compounds, with special emphasis on the development of new synthetic routes and also on organocatalytic and metal-catalysed transformations. However, the second line of his research is centred on the isolation and structural characterization of natural products from diverse terrestrial and marine sources.
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He makes research in the Organic Chemistry, Natural Products and Food Stuffs research Unit (QOPNA), where he is the head of the Organic Chemistry and Natural Products research group. QOPNA is a Unit with three main areas: Biochemistry, Organic chemistry and Mass Spectrometry, which is well known for the research made.
He is the President of the Portuguese Chemical Society and member of the Executive Board of EuCheMS.
He is fellow of the European Academy of Sciences since January 2017.
Jean Etourneau
France
University of Bordeaux
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Jean Etourneau is Emeritus Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Bordeaux. He is member of the European Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona, Dr Honoris Causa of the Technical University of Darmstadt (one of the leading Universities of Technologies in Germany). He got his PhD in Physical Sciences in 1970 at the University of Bordeaux. He became the head of the Solid State Chemistry Laboratory in 1986 (CNRS Unit) and he founded in 1995 the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux (ICMCB, one the most important CNRS Unit in Materials Science in France). He was Scientific Advisor of several international research institutions (e.g. NIMS in Tsukuba, Japan), member of bi-national organisations (e.g. CEFIPRA, Indo-French Center) and President of French national committees in Research and Higher Education. He created in 2008 the European Multifunctional Materials Institute (EMMI), a tool to integrate Research and Education through European actions in the FP6, FP7 & Horizon 2020 programmes.
He has published more than 350 papers in the field Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science devoted to the chemical and physical properties of borides, intermetallics and high Tc superconductors. Both collective and integrative activities carried out by Jean Etourneau at local, national and international levels have been recognized by the French government through following distinctions: Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, Commandeur des Palmes Académiques & Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
Maria Salomé Soares Pais
Portugal
Lisbon Academy of Science
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Maria Salome Soares Pais received her PhD on Plant Biology at the Ecole Normale Superieur in Paris. Between 1982 and 2003, she was a full professor at the Department of Plant Biology of the Science Faculty of the University of Lisbon. During her career, she has been responsible for Research Programmes at the Centre for Biological Engineering; Professor in charge of the Centre for Electron Microscopy and Head of the Department of Plant Biotechnology.
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Prof. Soares has been member of several executive boards such as the program on Assessment of the Impact of Genetically Modified Plants and the Program on Plant Adaptation. Currently, she is member of the Interministerial Commission for Permanent Consultancy on Transgenic Organisms, member of the Scientific Committee of National Geographic Magazine in Portugal and Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies for Seniors from Academy of Sciences of Lisbon.
Elvira Fortunato
Portugal
EURASC
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Elvira Fortunato is full professor in Materials Science Department of Faculty of Science and Technology of New University of Lisbon. Currently she is the director of the Institute of Nanomaterials, Nanofabrication and Nanomodeling and of CENIMAT. Fortunato pioneered European research on transparent electronics, namely thin-film transistors based on oxide semiconductors, demonstrating that oxide materials can be used as true semiconductors. In 2008, she earns in the 1st ERC edition an AdG for the project “Invisible”, considered a success story. In the same year she demonstrated with her colleagues the possibility to make the first paper transistor, starting a new field in the area of paper electronics.
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She is a Fellow of the Portuguese Engineering Academy since 2009 and decorated with the grade of Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator by the President of the Republic in 2010, due to her scientific achievements worldwide. Since November 2016 she integrates the High Level Group for the Scientifc Advise Mechanism of the EC.
Carlos Salema
Portugal
Lisbon Academy of Science
Carlos Salema graduated in Electrical Engineering IST in 1965, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Queen Mary College, University of London (1972), agregate, IST (1978). Full professor at IST of Telecommunication Systems until 2003. Currently Professor Emeritus at IST and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Instituto de Telecomunicações, the largest R&D centre in Telecommunications in Portugal. Full member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and of the Portuguese Academy of Engineering. Authored a book on Microwave Radio Links, published firstly in Portuguese (IST Press, 1998, 2002, 2011), and later in English, (John Wiley & Sons, 2003) a book on Introduction to Telecommunications (IST Press, 2009).
Fernando Santana
Portugal
Portuguese Academy of Engineering
Fernando José Pires Santana, is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the New University of Lisbon. He has been the Director of this Faculty (since 2006), functions which he accumulates with those of President of the Faculty of Science and Technology Foundation, President of Uninova - Institute for the Development of New Technologies and President of the Board of Directors of Madan Science Park, having previously chaired the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
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He is a Civil Engineer (University of Luanda), Master of Science in Eng. of Public Health (Imperial College, University of London), Doctor in Sanitary Engineering (New University of Lisbon) and Aggregate in Environmental Equipment Project (Faculty of Sciences and Technology).
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In addition to his teaching and scientific activities at the Faculty of Science and Technology, he is President of the Engineering Academy, Corresponding Member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, Member of the Admissions and Qualification Council of the Engineers Association and Guest Member of the National Water Council.
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He is the Director of the Water & Environment Journal.
Hélène de Rode
Belgium
U.C.L. - Mons, Actium-Law Firm
Professor Hélène de Rode graduated University of Louvain, where she became professor of law in 1993 till 2003.
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She published numerous papers and gave invited talks in international meetings and symposia. She also practices law and is a partner of her law firm Actium-Law. She is a member of the Liege Bar Association. She oversees for the Academy programmes related to Law Sciences. Since 2009, she is professor at the UCL Mons.
João Rocha
Portugal
CICECO, EURASC
João Rocha is member of the European Academy of Sciences and of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences (Chemistry) (restricted to 13 Chemists), and Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the ChemPubSoc Europe, and Director of the Aveiro Institute of Materials-CICECO. In 2012-15 he was member of the National Science and Technology Council (headed by the Prime Minister). In 2005, he received the prize for Scientific Excellence from the Portuguese Science Foundation and in 1990 a prize from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
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He got his PhD in 1990 from the Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, UK, working on solid-state NMR of kaolinite and related materials (supervisor Prof. Jacek Klinowski). This was followed by a one year post-doc (NMR of zeolite-type materials) in the same group. He has been in the Chemistry Department, Aveiro University, since mid-1991. In 1999 he was promoted to Full Professor of Inorganic Chemistry.
Carlos Ribeiro
Portugal
Champalimaud Foundation
Born in Basel, Switzerland, Carlos Ribeiro studied Bio II at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and performed his diploma under the supervision of Dr. Markus Affolter and Prof. Walter Gehring studying how TGF-beta signaling and HOX transcription factors affect transcription in the Drosophila embryo. After graduating in 1999 he continued in the laboratory of Prof. Affolter for his PhD studies until 2003 where he used 3D time lapse imaging approaches in the living embryo to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms used to sculpt the tubular breathing network of the fruitfully. In 2004 he joined the laboratory of Barry Dickson at the IMP in Vienna, Austria, for his postdoctoral training where he first characterized Robot receptor trafficking in living Drosophila embryos and then became interested in decision making in the adult fly. Carlos Ribeiro became principal investigator of the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme at the IGC in 2009. His laboratory studies how neuronal systems sense metabolic needs and modify neuronal processes to generate the correct behavioral decisions needed for the survival and reproduction of organisms.
