President of FCT awarded Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Prize

Helena Pereira, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), has been awarded the 2020 Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Prize by the Instituto Superior Técnico (Técnico). The award will be presented at a ceremony to be held on Monday, December 6, starting at 2:30 p.m., in the main hall of Técnico.

Helena Pereira, a former student at Técnico, wins in the Role Model category – student with more than 15 years of career. She is a professor at the Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon. She was vice-president of FCT from 2017 to 2019, and was then appointed Chair of the FCT Board of Directors, a position she still holds today. With a degree in Chemical-Industrial Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, a PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Hamburg, Germany, and an aggregate degree from Instituto Superior de Agronomia, her area of research has been forests and forest products, including bioenergy and biorefineries, from an integrated and multidisciplinary perspective. She has always shown interest and commitment to gender issues in research and was president of Amonet, the Portuguese Association of Women Scientists.

In the jury's statement, the award is given to Helena Pereira for "recognition of her active and committed participation in university teaching and academic and science and technology management, highlighting her commendable efforts in holding demanding high-level public positions in the service of the academic and scientific community. She has contributed to the progress of science and is recognized by the international and national scientific community."

This year's award also recognizes Maria Teresa Parreira in the Young Alumna category for her academic achievements, involvement in extracurricular activities, and performance in her master's degree program and dissertation.

The Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Award was established in 2016 by Técnico as a way of promoting gender equality and relevance at the Institute, and recognizing the crucial role that women play in all areas of engineering. In previous editions, the award was given to Maria da Graça Carvalho (2016), Isabel Vaz (2017), Manuela Veloso (2018), and Paula Panarra (2019).

More information on the award pageandsession brochure.

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