October 24, 2023 – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga

The UT Austin Portugal Program Annual Conference is the Program’s largest knowledge-sharing and networking event, bringing its community together with world-class speakers across academia and industry from the Partnership’s geographical scope and beyond.

As the Program moves towards the end of its third Phase, its Annual Conference returns in October with an ideation exercise that will help us understand the Program’s role in shaping Portugal’s future.

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Registrations are open until October 17.

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The Conference Theme Explained

The UT Austin Portugal Program is about to complete its third funding cycle. The ideation exercise about the future, which started in 2021 with the support of the Program’s Governing Board and the External Review Committee, gathered pace in 2022. The main stakeholders in this exercise agree that future directions must consider the Program’s accomplishments over its 16-year journey and the main challenges Portugal faces now and in the coming years as a member of the international community.

What accomplishments has the Program generated that can be used to design scientific action for the most pressing societal problems? Drawing on its past outcomes and impact, where can the Program continue to make a difference in the future? Sixteen years may be considered a long time to have a return on investment with public funds. Still, one must remember that research, incredibly collaborative and international, takes a long time to establish: first, to build trust and communication, then to produce results. Moreover, impactful change in science and technology does not happen overnight.

The Partnership’s framework is in place and has been tested, fine-tuned and proven to benefit the Portuguese community and the country’s international standing. But what lies ahead? Where should the Program be looking to go on delivering unique value and expanding the breadth of its impact?

The 2023 Annual Conference wraps up Phase 3 of the Program with an agenda that offers a platform to ideate on an ambitious future for Portugal drawing on UT Austin Portugal Partnership’s strengths.

Our Guests

This is our wall of top-notch speakers. Click on their names to read their short bios. More speakers to be confirmed soon.

Brian Korgel

Dan Stanzione

Emanuel Tutuc

Jamie Warner

João Maciel

John Ekerdt

José Manuel Mendonça

Killian Lobato

Lorena Diéguez

Paula Vilarinho

Paulo Ferreira

Ricardo Bessa

Richard L. Hudson

Rui Oliveira

Tentative Agenda

October 24 @ INL

9.30 a.m. Opening Session
10 a.m. A review of Phase 3 through the lens of the External Review Committee
10.20 a.m. Envisaging the Program’s Future: Steering Scientific Domains to Key Societal Missions
10.30 a.m. Research and Innovation in Clean Energy | Keynote Speech with John Ekerdt (title to be provided)
11.30 a.m. Coffee-Break
12 noon Clean Energy – Opportunities for Portugal (Round Table #1)
1.15 p.m. Networking lunch + E-Poster Exhibition
2.45 p.m. Contributions of Nanotechnology to the Mission of UT Austin Portugal (Round Table #2)
3.50 p.m. The Significance and Opportunity of Advanced Computing Infrastructures for Research and Innovation (Round Table #3)
4.50 p.m. The Future of Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the EU and the US
5.20 p.m. Closing Remarks
5.45 p.m. Porto D’Honra

About the Thematic Sessions

UT Austin Portugal Program’s External Review Committee (ERC)
With: John G. Ekerdt (UT Austin).

More information coming soon.

With: António Vidigal (moderator), João Maciel (EDP Renewables), Ricardo Bessa (INESC TEC), Brian Korgel (UT Austin Energy Institute) and more to be confirmed.

More information coming soon.

With: Paulo Ferreira (moderator), Lorena Dieguez (INL), Paula Vilarinho (University of Aveiro), Jamie Warner (UT Austin) and more to be confirmed.

More information coming soon.

With: Rui Oliveira (UT Austin Portugal Program), Dan Stanzione (Texas Advanced Computing Center) and more to be confirmed.

More information coming soon.

Conference Venue

This year the UT Austin Portugal Program Annual Conference is back to the same city that hosted the first Conference of Phase 3: Braga! Only this time we will meet at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), home of cutting-edge research and development in nanotechnology. INL reunites the expertise and innovation of more than 450 researchers from all over the world, creating the perfect setting to celebrate this partnership that has been connecting Portugal and Austin for 16 years!

Contacts

If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact the Conference Local Organizing Team at events@utaustinportugal.org.