Governing Board
The Governing Board has overall responsibility and assesses the Program’s activities, reviews the progress achieved, and approves the activities’ report and the future plan of activities. The Board meets face-to-face in Portugal at least once a year.
Constituted by one representative of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), one of The University of Texas at Austin, one representative of Portuguese universities, appointed by FCT, and one representative of the Industrial Advisory Board. The President of the FCT, or a representative, chairs the Governing Board.
José Paulo Esperança
Chair of the Board
Representative of FCT
Representative of FCT
Robert A. Peterson
Representative of the University of Texas at Austin
José Manuel Mendonça
Representative of Portuguese Universities
Célia Reis
Representative of the Industrial Advisory Board
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 independent from the program and reviews the progress of the Program annually, 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
Edwin L. Thomas
Area of Nanotechnologies
Alfred Ng
Area of Space-Earth Interactions
Alison Campbell
Area of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Board of Directors
Composed by 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. Its purpose is to establish educational and research agendas among the partnering institutions through specific programs and projects.
José Manuel Mendonça
Director in Portugal
Rui Oliveira
Co-Director in Portugal
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
Area Directors
Assigned to each program area, the area directors assist the Board of Directors in defining and running the Program’s operations, to cover appropriately its education, research, innovation activities. Their expected contribution is strategic, with a focus on the assessment and monitoring of the evolution of the Program, and the design of initiatives.
Rui Oliveira
Area Director of Advanced Computing
in Portugal
in Portugal
Paulo Mateus
Area Director of Advanced Computing
in Portugal
in Portugal
Dan Stanzione
Area Director of Advanced Computing
at Austin
at Austin
José Marques
Area Director of Medical Physics
in Portugal
in Portugal
João Oliveira
Area Director in Medical Physics
in Portugal
in Portugal
Carla Silva
Area Director of Nanotechnologies
in Portugal
in Portugal
Paulo Ferreira
Area Director of Nanotechnologies
in Portugal
in Portugal
Brian Korgel
Area Director of Nanotechnologies
at Austin
at Austin
Luísa Bastos
Area Director of Space-Earth Interaction in Portugal
Pedro Camanho
Area Director of Space-Earth Interactions in Portugal
Patrick Heimbach
Area Director of Space-Earth Interactions at Austin
Teresa Mendes
Area Director of Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship
in Portugal
in Portugal
João Claro
Area Director of Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship
in Portugal
in Portugal
Marco Bravo
Area Director of Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship
at Austin
at 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
Catarina Carvalho
Head of Communications
in Portugal
in Portugal
Ana Lopes
Communications Officer
in Portugal
in Portugal
Vera Pinto
Administrative Support
in Portugal
in Portugal
Bárbara Veloso
Impact Assessment
in Portugal
in Portugal
Daniel Dantas
Communications Officer
in Portugal
in Portugal
Rita Costa
Design and Multimedia
in Portugal
in Portugal
Industrial Advisory Board
To maximize the impact of the results the UT Austin Portugal Program intends to achieve, the Program will also be supported by companies, which have signed a protocol of collaboration with Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and will contribute with relevant guidelines and resources in the design and operation of the multiple initiatives to be implemented.
The UT Austin Portugal Program is established in close collaboration with Portuguese industry affiliates and other organizations who actively contribute to the research, education, and researcher exchanges conducted within the program, as well as to the innovation and industry-related initiates.
From the exchange programs to the research calls, UT Austin Portugal collaborates with industrial partners and affiliates. These direct-engagement activities complement the overall raft of the program areas, solidifying the relationships between industry and academia. Since 2018, the following organizations are involved with the Program:
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)
