Five individuals honored with the Medal of Scientific Merit

The Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, recently awarded five more individuals with the Medal of Scientific Merit. The recipients were Luís Magalhães, Paulo Ferrão, Helena Pereira, Emília Moura, and Isabel Vitorino. This distinction aims to reward Portuguese or foreign individuals who, through their high professional qualities and dedication to their work, have distinguished themselves through their valuable and exceptional contribution to the development of science or scientific culture in Portugal.

Below is a brief biographical note on the academic, scientific, and/or professional background of the most recent award winners.

Luís Magalhães, PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University (USA), is currently a professor of Mathematics at the Instituto Superior Técnico, where he co-founded two research centers, the Center for Mathematical Analysis and the Institute for Systems and Robotics. He was president of FCT between 1997 and 2002 and of the Agency for the Knowledge Society (UMIC), whose functions were later integrated into FCT, between 2005 and 2012. Since 2017, he has also been vice-president of the OECD's Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP).

Paulo Ferrão, PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, is the current president of the COST association, an EU scientific and technological cooperation program, and a full professor at IST. His scientific work has focused mainly on urban sustainability and smart cities, and he is also president of the IST Center for Studies in Innovation, Technology, and Development Policies. He was also director of the MIT-Portugal Program between 1996 and 2016, and president of FCT between 2016 and 2019.

Helena Pereira, professor at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, has held management and academic and scientific coordination positions at several universities, polytechnic institutes, and research units. Her research has focused mainly on forests and forest products. Since 2019, she has held the position of Chair of the Board of Directors of FCT.

Emília Moura, who holds a degree in Economics from the Higher Institute of Economics and Management (ISEG) at the University of Lisbon, currently serves as a member of the FCT's Governing Board. Her career in public administration has involved her in the direction, management, and coordination of ministerial offices in the areas of science, technology, and higher education, the European Social Fund Coordination Committee, and the Foundation for National Scientific Computing (FCCN), notably as director of the FCT's Management and Administration Department between 2009 and 2015, and Head of the Office of Science, Technology, and Higher Education of the 21st Government of Portugal between 2016 and 2019.

Isabel Vitorino has been head of the Institutional Support Department at FCT since 2008. She has held various positions in the field of national science and technology management, notably as a member of the National Board for Scientific and Technological Research (JNICT), which she joined in 1987, with management functions in the area of allocation and monitoring of Studentships for the Mobilizing Program for Science and Technology, where she was also coordinator of the financial management and budget control area for programs and projects, and coordinator of the R&D Unit evaluation process in 2007.

To find out who has previously been awarded the Medal of Scientific Merit, see the awards page.