October 29, 2024 – TagusPark, Oeiras, Lisbon

In 2024, the UT Austin Portugal Program Annual Conference will bring together leading scientists, industry experts, and business innovators from both sides of the Atlantic to explore the journey of scientific discoveries from inception to market implementation.

Take advantage of the largest knowledge-sharing and networking event of the UT Austin Portugal Program and save the date on your calendar.

Registrations will open on September 2. Stay tuned to get your seat!

The Conference Theme Explained

Taking Discovery to Market: Crafting Impactful Science delves into the challenges, strategies and methodologies that bridge the gap between laboratory research and commercial application.

This year’s conference will explore the journey of scientific discoveries from inception to market implementation. To this end, we have picked TagusPark – also known as the Knowledge City – to be the stage of the Program’s most important networking event.

The agenda of the event includes different types of sessions, from keynotes to round tables and talks. Key topics will include the integration of interdisciplinary research, effective collaboration between academia and industry, and the role of technology transfer offices in facilitating commercialisation. We will also take time to envision the future and reflect on the place of science in its shaping and what it takes to turn scientific discoveries into practical applications to help us tackle tomorrow’s biggest challenges.

The conference aims to inspire and equip participants with the knowledge and tools necessary to enhance the societal impact of their scientific endeavours. Join us as we explore the pathways to transforming groundbreaking discoveries into impactful, market-ready solutions that can drive economic growth and societal well-being.

Our Guests

Impactful Discussions with Leading Minds

(by alphabetical order)

Ana Pires

Researcher and First Portuguese Female Scientist-Astronaut, INESC TEC

Brian Korgel

Director of The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin

Carlos Cerqueira

Business Development Director, Neuraspace

Dan Stanzione

Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Computing, The University of Texas at Austin

Emir Sirage

General Manager, NewSpace Portugal Agenda

Guihua Yu

Professor Temple Foundation Endowed Professorship No. 2, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

John Ekerdt

Principal Investigator, UT Austin Portugal (UT Austin)

José Manuel Mendonça

National Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program

Keshav Pingali

Professor, W.A.”Tex” Moncrief Chair of Computing, Department of Computer Science and Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Magda Cocco

Head of Practice Partner (Information, Communications & Technology and Digital Frontiers), VdA, Vieira de Almeida Sociedade de Advogados

Manish Parashar

Director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and Presidential Professor at Utah’s Kahlert School of Computing, The University of Utah

Patrick Heimbach

Computational Oceanographer & Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Paulo Santos

Director – Incubation and Acceleration, IPN Incubadora

Pedro Camanho

President of LAETA, Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics

Rui Oliveira

National Co-Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program

A Forward-Looking Agenda

October 29 @TagusPark

This Conference will be in-person only. Check-in starts at 8:45 a.m.

9.30 a.m.	Opening Remarks
10 a.m.	Notes from the UT Austin Portugal Colloquium 2024 (Austin, TX): Where do the next research and innovation hotspots lie? with Rui Oliveira, UT Austin Portugal Program (PT)
10.20 a.m.	Keynote Speech by Keshav Pingali, The University of Texas at Austin. Title and abstract to be provided soon.
11.20 a.m.	Networking Coffee
11.40 a.m.	Envisioning Tomorrow’s World with Impactful Science Round Table, moderated by José Manuel Mendonça, UT Austin Portugal Program (PT)
1.15 p.m.	Networking Lunch & E-Poster Exhibition (2022 Exploratory Research Projects)
2.45 p.m.	Spacetech: Lessons Learned From Discovery to Market Round Table, moderated by Ana Pires, INESC TEC
4.15 p.m.	Research and Innovation in HPC, with Dan Stanzione, Texas Advanced Computing Center, The University of Texas at Austin. Title and abstract to be provided soon.
5 pm	Closing Speech
5.15 pm	Afternoon Reception

Thematic Sessions

Where do the Next Research & Innovation Hotspots Lie? Notes from the UT Austin Portugal Colloquium 2024

Rui Oliveira, National Co-Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program, goes on stage to shed light on the next research and innovation hotspots, building on the first conclusions and recommendations due to come out from the forward-looking symposium that the Program is organising in September in Austin, Texas.

Keynote Speech

Keshav Pingali has been invited to deliver the Keynote Speech for this year’s edition. Dr Pingali is a Professor and W.A.”Tex” Moncrief Chair of Computing, Department of Computer Science and Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin. He served as Area Director for Advanced Computing in Phases 1 and 2 of the UT Austin Portugal. Pingali has been recently awarded the 2024 ACM SIGPLAN Programming Languages Achievement Award, which is a lifetime achievement award and the highest given by the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).

More details soon.

Envisioning Tomorrow’s World with Impactful Science

As four visionary scientists and entrepreneurs come together to elaborate on impactful science, this thought-provoking roundtable will offer a forum to discuss society’s next biggest challenges and why and how science will be critical to address and harness them while inviting the audience to reflect on what it takes for science to come out of the lab and drive positive change. Rather than a glimpse into the future or an ideation exercise generating unrealistic goals, this roundtable will be a call to action towards achievable goals through bold science.

Discussants:

Magda Cocco, Head of Practice Partner (Information, Communications & Technology and Digital Frontiers), VdA, Vieira de Almeida
Brian Korgel, Director of The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin
Guihua Yu, Professor, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Manish Parashar, Director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and Presidential Professor at Utah’s Kahlert School of Computing

Moderator:

José Manuel Mendonça, National Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program

Spacetech – Lessons Learned From Discovery to Market

The rapid evolution of space technology (space tech) is reshaping our understanding of the universe and transforming various industries on Earth. “Spacetech – Lessons Learned From Discovery to Market” is a comprehensive exploration of the journey that innovative space technologies undertake from initial discovery to successful commercialization.

The invited panel will talk you through the challenges of turning cutting-edge space discoveries into viable, impactful products and services that not only advance our capabilities in space but also drive technological progress on Earth.

Discussants:

Pedro Camanho, President of LAETA, Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics
Emir Sirage, General Manager, NewSpace Portugal Agenda
Carlos Cerqueira, Business Development Director, Neuraspace
Paulo Santos, Director, Incubation and Acceleration, IPN Incubadora
Patrick Heimbach, Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Moderator:

Ana Pires, Senior Research and First Portuguese Female Scientist-Astronaut, INESC TEC

Research and Innovation in HPC

(Talk title to be provided soon)

Dan Stanzione is Associate Vice President for Research at The University of Texas at Austin and Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Computing.

More details soon.

Conference Venue

This year, the UT Austin Portugal Program Annual Conference is moving south of Porto to land in Oeiras! In a decisive year for the Partnership as far as its future is concerned, we have picked TagusPark – also known as the Knowledge City – to be the stage of the Program’s most important networking event. What other place could be best suited to get our community together and other relevant external stakeholders to discuss strategies aimed at bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial application and unlocking the innovation potential of science?

Contacts

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

October 29, 2024 – TagusPark, Oeiras, Lisbon

The Conference Theme Explained

Our Guests

Impactful Discussions with Leading Minds

(by alphabetical order)

Ana Pires

Researcher and First Portuguese Female Scientist-Astronaut, INESC TEC

Brian Korgel

Director of The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin

Carlos Cerqueira

Business Development Director, Neuraspace

Dan Stanzione

Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Computing, The University of Texas at Austin

Emir Sirage

General Manager, NewSpace Portugal Agenda

Guihua Yu

Professor Temple Foundation Endowed Professorship No. 2, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

John Ekerdt

Principal Investigator, UT Austin Portugal (UT Austin)

José Manuel Mendonça

National Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program

Keshav Pingali

Professor, W.A.”Tex” Moncrief Chair of Computing, Department of Computer Science and Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Magda Cocco

Head of Practice Partner (Information, Communications & Technology and Digital Frontiers), VdA, Vieira de Almeida Sociedade de Advogados

Manish Parashar

Director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and Presidential Professor at Utah’s Kahlert School of Computing, The University of Utah

Patrick Heimbach

Computational Oceanographer & Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Paulo Santos

Director – Incubation and Acceleration, IPN Incubadora

Pedro Camanho

President of LAETA, Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics

Rui Oliveira

National Co-Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program

A Forward-Looking Agenda

Thematic Sessions

Where do the Next Research & Innovation Hotspots Lie? Notes from the UT Austin Portugal Colloquium 2024

Keynote Speech

Envisioning Tomorrow’s World with Impactful Science

Spacetech – Lessons Learned From Discovery to Market

Research and Innovation in HPC

Conference Venue

Contacts

Office in Portugal

Office in Austin

Organization

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