Marco Piccardo is an Assistant Professor in the Physics Department of Técnico Lisboa, a Principal Investigator at INESC Microsystems and Nanotechnologies, and a Visiting Professor at Harvard University.

He received his BSc. in Physics from Università degli Studi di Torino, and a MSc. in Physics from Ecole Normale Superieure and Ecole Polytechnique. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Ecole Polytechnique in 2016 working on the fundamental electronic processes responsible for the efficiency drop of blue light-emitting diodes at high-current operation, such as Anderson localization and Auger recombination. His postdoctoral research in the group of Federico Capasso at Harvard University focused on integrated laser frequency combs, while his subsequent activity as Researcher and Team Leader at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia studied metasurface-enhanced active and passive photonic cavities.

He is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant 2024 and has been elected Young Scientist of the Portuguese’s National Academy of Sciences. He is the recipient of the Young Physicist Award “G. F. Bassani” of the Italian Physical Society, and laureate of the PhD Award “Innovative Materials and Applications” of the Université Paris-Saclay. He holds around 50 peer-reviewed publications, in journals including Nature, Science, Nature Photonics, PNAS, Nature Communications and Physical Review Letters, and holds 6 patent applications in photonics, some of which have been licensed and used in real-word photonic technology.

André F. T. Martins (PhD 2012, Carnegie Mellon University and Instituto Superior Técnico; https://andre-martins.github.io/) is an Associate Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações, and Chief Science Officer at TransPerfect. His research, funded by a ERC Starting Grant (DeepSPIN) and Consolidator Grant (DECOLLAGE), among other grants, include machine translation, quality estimation, structure and interpretability in deep learning systems for NLP. His work has received several paper awards at ACL conferences. He co-founded and co-organizes the Lisbon Machine Learning School (LxMLS), and he is a Fellow of the ELLIS society and co-director of the ELLIS Program in Natural Language Processing. He is a member of the R&I advisory group of EuroHPC, the European infrastructure for supercomputing.

João Sanches (JS) is a Full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering (DBE) at the Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, where he coordinates the Master’s and PhD programs in Biomedical Engineering, as well as the scientific areas of Biomedical Systems and Biosignals. At DBE, he teaches topics in Image and Signal Processing, Systems and Control, and Bioinstrumentation.

JS is a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Evolutionary Systems and Biomedical Engineering (LASEEB) at the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR). His research activity on Biomedical Engineering has been focused on statistical signal and image processing of medical and biological images and on physiological and behavioral data. Currently, he is working on i) developing computational methods to quantify and map molecular and morphometric biomarkers of cancer and  ii) developing technological tools in mental health, specifically for diagnosis and monitoring of psychiatric disorders.

He has successfully created and led multidisciplinary teams with expertise in biology, medicine, engineering, and data sciences and as a result of this work approximately 200 international publications were produced.

Bruno Miguel Soares Gonçalves is graduated in Physics Engineering by Instituto Superior Técnico (1997), has a Master in Physics (IST/UTL, 2000) and a PhD in Physics Engineering (IST/UTL, 2003). In 2005 his PhD thesis was distinguished with the “European Physical Society Plasma Division PhD Research Award”.

Bruno Soares Gonçalves is Full Researcher at the Instituto Superior Técnico, President of the Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear (since May 2012) and responsible for the Engineering and Systems Integration Group of IPFN. He has led several research projects in the areas of development of diagnostics for nuclear fusion devices and of control systems and data acquisition. He is co-inventor of 8 granted patents, co-author of one chapter in a book, in one hundred and thirty five papers published in international journals and in sixty two papers published in international conference proceedings. He is a member of several international scientific committees of conferences in the field, the national delegate on the Governing Board of Eurofusion and national delegate on the Governing Board of Fusion for Energy.

Bruno Soares Gonçalves has extensive experience talking to broader audiences in conferences, television and radio. Bruno Soares Gonçalves sepaks about, energy, nuclear energy and nuclear fusion energy but also on science communication and science presentations. He is also the author of the book “Nuclear Fusion in the Age of Climate Change” (freely available online, https://www.ipfn.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/fusao_nuclear_alteracoes_climaticas/download.html).

M.F. Montemor http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7835-6814 is Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, Department of Chemical Engineering.

Her scientific activity focusses on new functional coatings for surface protection and for energy storage. She is co-author of 20 book chapters and above 350 scientific papers. Her h index is 76. She has been awarded with the EFC medal and has received a Doctor Honoris Causa Degree by University of Mons. Leading a scientific team of approximately 20 researchers, including PhD students, pos-docs and young researchers, she fosters a creative research environment conducive to cutting-edge research and innovation that addresses synergies between materials engineering  research and industry needs. She is co-founder of the company “Charge2C-NewCap” that fabricates supercapacitors.

Pedro Carvalho is a full professor at IST, University of Lisbon, and a researcher at the INESC-ID. He is the coordinator of the Energy Scientific Area of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at IST and the strategic coordinator of the Energy Transition thematic line at INESC-ID, where he carries out research in energy systems planning and optimization of electricity distribution networks. He is an entrepreneur in the development of decision-support software, having developed products with international acceptance by the industry. He was responsible for INESC-ID’s participation in many research and development projects in international consortia in the area of power system planning, operation and control and has actively collaborated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA, where he was an Adjunct Professor until 2023, and responsible for the dual PhD degree in Engineering and Public Policy with IST.

Tiago Domingos, Licenciatura in Engineering Physics (IST) and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering (IST), is an associate professor in Environment and Energy at IST, University of Lisbon. His main research areas are Ecological Economics, Ecological Modelling and Sustainable Agriculture. He is president of MARETEC – Marine, Environment and Technology Centre, coordinator of the IST Platform for Environmental Science and Technology and coordinator of the M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering. He is founder and CEO of Terraprima, an IST Spin-off.

Manuel Duarte Pinheiro holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering with a thesis focused on environmental management applied to sustainable construction. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Civil, Architecture, and Environment at Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa.

Research member of CERIS – Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability, responsible for Thematic Strand 4 – Response to natural and societal changes. His primary research areas include lifecycle assessment and management, environmental management systems, environmental impacts, and the sustainable built environment. He developed the LiderA System, a voluntary Portuguese certification for the sustainable built environment.

Emeritus Professor at the University of Porto, Director of INESC TEC, Coordinator of the INESC TEC OCEAN Teaming initiative, Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program, and Chairman of the Board of ANTARR. His professional trajectory spans both industry and research, with active engagement in strategic innovation projects.

Isabel Rocha is Vice-Rector at NOVA University Lisbon, coordinating the areas of research, innovation, and value creation.

She is a Principal Investigator at ITQB NOVA, coordinating a Synthetic Biology Research Laboratory. She earned her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Minho and completed her postdoctoral studies at the Technical University of Denmark. She conducts research in biotechnology, covering topics such as bioinformatics, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and systems biology, and has published over 140 full papers in international journals, books, and conferences. She was the scientific coordinator of, among others, the Shikifactory100 Project (Shikifactory100.eu) and the national representative on the executive board of the European Bioinformatics Infrastructure (ELIXIR). She is also an evaluator for several funding agencies, including the European Commission.

In 2007, she was a visiting professor at MIT, USA, as part of the MIT-Portugal Program, and from 2007 to 2017, she was a faculty member at MIT-Portugal, responsible for an educational program in innovation involving four universities and two doctoral programs – the i-teams program. She was President of P-Bio, the Portuguese Association of Bioindustries, and was one of the founders of the companies Biotempo and SilicoLife.

She was Chairman of the Board of Directors of CoLab InnovPlantProtect, a crop protection association, and Vice-President of CoLab BIOREF, focusing in biorefineries. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Madan Parque, NOVA’s technology-based incubator.

Filipe Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Mechanical Engineering Doctoral Program of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is a member of Centre of Intelligent Systems, IDMEC, IST, Lisbon. His research focuses on leveraging multiple types of data to enhance Machine Learning and Deep Learning methods. In 2021, he finished an Integrated Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at IST. His M.Sc. thesis was on emerging fuzzy learning methods.

Gonçalo Ribeiro is a PhD Fast Track student in Engineering Physics, currently wrapping up his master’s degree. Passionate about bridging Particle Physics and Medicine, he is developing a patent-pending device that could unlock the safe clinical use of FLASH-RT — a groundbreaking new approach to cancer treatment.

Manuel Rentschler holds a MSc in Ship and Marine Technology from University of Rostock, Germany. During his industrial career he worked mainly on aero- and hydrodynamic analyses of floating renewable energy devices, aquaculture systems, and ships. He specialized in Computational Fluid Dynamics, cable dynamics, mooring design, and scientific coding. In 2022, he started a PhD at Instituto Superior Técnico working on numerical modelling of tidal energy resources and hydrokinetic turbines.

Moritz Raible is an accomplished engineer with a diverse background in mechanical engineering and energy systems. While studying, he worked part-time in a local bicycle shop, where he developed a passion for engineering. After completing an apprenticeship in industrial mechanics with a focus on devices and precision engineering at ZF Friedrichshafen, he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Design and Development, specializing in Energy Technology, at HTWG Konstanz. During this time, he gained practical experience as a working student at Georg Fischer Piping Systems in Schaffhausen. Following a transformative four-month world trip, he returned to work with Georg Fischer in valve development, deepening his expertise in engineering solutions. In pursuit of advanced knowledge, he relocated to Portugal to pursue a Master’s degree in Energy at IPS in Setúbal, where he completed a thesis on adiabatic compressed air energy storage. From 2015 to 2023, he worked as an Innovation Engineer at Georg Fischer in Schaffhausen, responsible for developing diverse new product solutions, including digital weld bead measurement, a new electro-welding process, and innovative sealing solutions. At the end of 2023, he moved again, this time to IST Lisbon, to embark on a PhD journey focused on wave energy conversion. Outside of work and academia, Moritz Raible is an active surfer and windsurfer, and in Germany, he is involved as a mountain biking activist with the German Alpine Club.

Ricardo A. Marques Lameirinhas is a researcher at the Instituto de Telecomunicações, working within the Applied Electromagnetics Group. His research focuses on optoelectronic devices, photonics, semiconductors, and photovoltaic technology. He received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico – Universidade de Lisboa in November 2024, graduating with distinction and honour. During his MSc and PhD studies, he was an active member of the academic community, serving on both the Pedagogical Council and the School Assembly of Instituto Superior Técnico.

Melissa Bacatelo is a Program Manager at c5Lab, where she leads innovation projects focused on decarbonization, energy transition, and the circular economy. She holds a PhD in Sustainable Energy Systems from Técnico, completed with distinction, and a Master’s in Materials Engineering. Over the past seven years, she has managed European-funded projects, led multidisciplinary teams, and served on the executive board of a major international research consortium. Her work has earned international recognition, including the Young Scientist Award in 2025 from the Journal of CO₂ Utilization and an international scientific committee focused on carbon capture technologies. She’s also the winner of Técnico’s 3-Minute PhD Pitch Competition in 2021.

João Gante is a Machine Learning Engineer in the Open-Source team at Hugging Face, leading text generation in the “transformers” library. João has 8 years of experience in the AI industry, as well as a PhD in AI applied to telecommunications from Instituto Superior Técnico.

I hold a double PhD in Mathematics (ML/AI). By age 26, I had achieved financial freedom for life, thanks to spotting betting edges since age 14. I later led Blockchain.com’s $300M trading desk.

Today, I’m the Managing Partner of two systematic crypto hedge funds: BTC Yield and Systematic Digital Assets, with $20M in commitments and $2M of my own capital invested.

I started these funds because I genuinely find it easy to identify inefficiencies (I once turned $100 into $6M through sports betting) and I believe that capital, used consciously, can reshape the future.

I was raised as an “accomplishment machine,” and now I’m navigating the path toward becoming a more whole human while using that to further my professional skills even further! If you’re interested in building wealth, I’d love to connect.

J. P. Leal is a research chemist working at CQE Center of IST (Instituto Superior Técnico), with interests in thermodynamics, mass spectrometry, radiation technologies, recovery of rare earths from secondary sources (circular economy) and new technologies for chemistry teaching. Obtained his Ph.D in 1993 on Molecular Energetics from Technical University of Lisbon and his habilitation on “The Use of Software in Teaching” from Lisbon University in 2012, where he was an invited teacher from 2000 to 2013. Since 2016 he is an invited teacher at the Chemical Engineering Department of IST (Lisbon University).
He is the author or co-author of more than 100 original publications in international journals and 30 more in national ones, those dealing mainly with educational aspects. Is the co-author of a General Chemistry book, registered three national and one internacional patents and made more than 25 invited presentations in conferences or symposiums as well as more than 200 other oral and poster communications.
He was/is an elected member of the School Council of Instituto Superior Técnico – Lisbon University (2021-2024) (2025-present).

Paulo Dimas is the CEO of the Center for Responsible AI, a consortium of 22 partners that brings together AI startups, research centers, and industry leaders. Under his leadership, the Center’s mission is to create the next generation of Artificial Intelligence products grounded in the principles and technologies of Responsible AI.

Over the past decade, Paulo served as Vice President of Innovation at Unbabel, a world-leading AI startup specializing in machine translation combined with human expertise. He joined Unbabel when it was a team of just 12 people and led the development of innovative AI-based products. His work played a key role in the company’s growth, helping it secure over €100 million in multiple funding rounds. In 2020, Unbabel was recognized by Fast Company as one of the World’s Top 3 Most Innovative Companies in the Enterprise category.

A frequent speaker at conferences, he is a recognized voice in discussions on the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence, contributing to its ethical and responsible use.

Ana Lanham is an Assistant Professor at IST/iBB since 2022 and was a lecturer in Water Science and Engineering at the University of Bath, UK, since 2015. Her group explores the open microbiomes responsible for the environmental bioprocesses in wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Ana also has a keen interest in the conceptualization of the circular economy applied to the bioeconomy and water systems, also in terms of life cycle thinking and technology assessment. She holds a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2012) and a 5-year BEng from IST in Biological Engineering (2005).

Joana Lobo Antunes is professor of Science Communication, Department of Engineering in Mineral and Energy Resources, Instituto Superior Técnico, and she has been heading Communication, Image and Marketing at Técnico since 2020. Previously, she was invited professor in Science Communication at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2012-2025), where she was also post-doctoral researcher in Promotion and Administration of Science and Technology (2012-2015). She was appointed Executive Director at Centro Ciência Viva de Sintra (2014-2016), and Head of Communications at ITQB NOVA (2016-2019). Founder and former President of Portuguese Science Communicators Network SciComPT, Joana has also led several awarded Science Communication projects such as science radio show 90 Segundos de Ciência and podcast, book and exhibition 110 histórias, 110 objetos.

Rui Ramos nasceu a 22 de Maio de 1962, licenciou-se em história na Universidade Nova de Lisboa, e doutorou-se em ciência política na Universidade de Oxford. É professor e investigador no Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa e professor convidado do Instituto de Estudos Políticos da Universidade Católica. Escreveu, entre outros livros, A Segunda Fundação (1890-1926), volume VI da História de Portugal dirigida por José Mattoso (Círculo de Leitores), e a História de Portugal (Esfera dos Livros, em co-autoria com Bernardo de Vasconcelos e Nuno Monteiro), que recebeu o Prémio D. Dinis em 2009. Coordenou o Dicionário Crítico da Revolução Liberal (1820-1834). Na imprensa, teve uma coluna semanal no Diário Económico (2005), e depois no Público (2006-2009), Correio da Manhã (2009) e Expresso (2010-2013). Colaborou em programas de debate semanal na RTP-N, TVI-24, SIC-N e Canal Q, e foi autor da série de 12 episódios “Portugal de…”, da RTP-1 (2006-2007). É administrador e colunista do Observador, onde assina semanalmente o programa “E o Resto É História”.

João Miguel Tavares nasceu em 1973, em Portalegre. Licenciou-se em Ciências da Comunicação pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Trabalhou no Diário de Notícias, foi colunista no Correio da Manhã, fundou a revista Time Out e foi publisher da empresa Cinco Um Zero. É um dos autores do programa Governo Sombra e da série de televisão Prisão Domiciliária. É actualmente colunista do Público, comentador do Programa Cujo Nome Estamos Legalmente Impedidos de Dizer (SIC) e co-autor, com Rui Ramos, do podcast da Rádio Observador E o Resto É História. Em 2019, presidiu às comemorações do Dia de Portugal. Publicou um livro com os discursos desse dia, dois livros de crónicas e quatro livros infantis.