Governance – Phase 4
Meet the people and structures that guide the Program’s strategic direction and ensure the highest standards of scientific, operational, and institutional excellence.
Partnerships National Advisory Board
Highest authority across the three International Partnerships (MIT, CMU, UT Austin).
Responsibilities:
- Strategic oversight of the three US Partnerships
- High-level guidance on alignment with Portugal’s national R&I priorities
- Reporting to Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation
The Partnerships External Review Committee
Mission Structure for the International Partnerships
Reporting to the Advisory Board, the Mission Structure oversees the three partnerships from a strategic and operational standpoint.
It ensures coordination between programs, supports implementation, and monitors overall performance and alignment with FCT’s goals.
Chair of the Mission Structure
Prof. José Manuel Mendonça
Chair, Mission Structure for International Partnerships
Oversees MIT Portugal, CMU Portugal, UT Austin Portugal
Mission Structure for the International Partnerships
Reporting to the Advisory Board, the Mission Structure oversees the three partnerships from a strategic and operational standpoint.
It ensures coordination between programs, supports implementation, and monitors overall performance and alignment with FCT’s goals.
Partnerships External Review Committee (New – Phase 4)
The Partnerships External Review Committee is an independent scientific body that evaluates all three partnerships collectively.
Composed of internationally recognized experts, the Committee assesses progress, reviews scientific quality, and issues recommendations to improve performance and long-term impact.
UT Austin Portugal Program Board (New – Phase 4)
Each partnership maintains its own program-level governance.
For the UT Austin Portugal Program, the Program Board will oversee strategic execution, approve annual plans, and support long-term scientific and institutional goals.
António Vidigal
Representative of the Industrial Advisory Board
External Review Committee
The External Review Committee (ERC) is appointed by FCT and consists of academic peers from internationally recognized institutions who serve the Program in an advisory role. The ERC is an independent body, charged with reviewing the Program’s progress annually, and providing a set of detailed recommendations.
Peter Arzberger
Chair of the Committee
Area of Advanced Computing
Area of Advanced Computing
Oliver Jäkel
Area of Medical Physics
Alfred Ng
Area of Space-Earth Interactions
Marie-Paule Pileni
Area of Nanotechnologies
Board of Directors
Composed of two teams, one in Portugal and one at Austin, the Board of Directors guarantees the overall governance of the Partnership. The directors work collegially to lead the operations of the Program and establish educational and research agendas among the partnering institutions through specific activities.
José Manuel Mendonça
Director in Portugal
Rui Oliveira
Program Director - Portugal (Phase IV)
Program Co-Director - Portugal (Phase III)
Program Co-Director - Portugal (Phase III)
Andreia Passos
Executive Director
in Portugal
in Portugal
John G. Ekerdt
Principal Investigator at UT Austin
Marco Bravo
Co-Principal Investigator and Executive Director at UT Austin
Executive Team
The Board of Directors is assisted by two executive directors – one in Portugal and one at UT Austin – and their respective teams who manage and coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Program; help implement new instruments to address new potential areas of collaboration of strategic interest to the Program; bridge institutional and operational mobilization and coordination of the Program stakeholders, in close contact with multiple higher education institutions, research units, companies, and innovation and entrepreneurship support organizations; communicate to the Program’s community and the public in general of the Program’s initiatives, results, and impact.
Andreia Passos
Executive Director
in Portugal
in Portugal
Marco Bravo
Co-Principal Investigator and Executive Director at UT Austin
Sofia Maciel
Head of Communications
in Portugal
in Portugal
Rita Moutinho
Communications Officer
in Portugal
in Portugal
Elsa Carvalho
Technical Specialist
in Portugal
in Portugal
Marta Rocha
Administrative Assistant
in Portugal
in Portugal
Luz Vargas
Administrative Support
at UT Austin
at UT Austin
Susan Rogers
Media Advisor
at Ut Austin
at Ut Austin
Vera Pinto
Mobility Officer | Monitoring and Reporting in Portugal
Industrial Advisory Board
The Program is established in close collaboration with Portuguese industry affiliates who are very important to help close the gap between research and innovation. Currently, the Program is supported by a group of 10 industrial partners who bring guidance and resources to the Program.
Other Organizations
From exchange programs to research calls, UT Austin Portugal collaborates with industrial partners and affiliates. These direct-engagement activities complement the overall raft of the Program’s areas, bridging academia with industry and society. This is a non-exhaustive list of organizations collaborating with the Program since Phase 3:
Advanced Computing
Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca, EPE (HFF, EPE)
Nanotechnologies
Centro Hospitalar Cova da Beira (CHCB)
Labfit – Health Products Research and Development Lda (HPRD Lda)
Instituto de Física dos Materiais (IFIMUP)
Nanohmics (Nanohm)
Space-Earth Interactions
Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso, FP (FGF)
Instituto de Investigação em Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos (IVAR/Uaçores/UAçores)
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, I. P. (IPMA)
ENIGMA VIRTUAL, LDA
Sociedade Afonso Chaves (SAC)
TEKEVER Autonomous Systems, Lda (TEK-AS)
Associação para a Promoção da Investigação em Design e Arte (ESAD IDEA)
