Maria Madalena dos Santos Alves President Madalena Alves is a Full Professor of Biological Engineering at the University of Minho. She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Porto, a master's degree in Biochemical Engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico, and a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Minho. She has been Chair of the FCT Governing Board since July 1, 2022.

She held scientific and academic coordination and management positions at the University of Minho, having directed the Center for Biological Engineering and actively participated in collegiate bodies, namely the School Council and the Scientific Council of the School of Engineering. Between 2007 and 2009, she was director of the installation committee of the UMinho Agency for Energy and the Environment, an institutional initiative.

Her scientific activity focuses mainly on the area of Environmental Biotechnology, with a special focus on biotechnological processes associated with the production and consumption of gases. She has participated as a principal investigator, co-investigator, or team member in multiple research projects funded by national and European programs. She has developed collaborations with international research networks and has been a member of scientific evaluation committees for several international agencies, such as the Helmholtz Association (Germany) and the European Research Council (ERC), of which she has been a panel member since 2021.

He has undertaken several medium- and long-term research stays at internationally renowned institutions, including the J. Craig Venter Institute (USA), the Environmental Change Institute in Galway (Ireland), and Wageningen University (Netherlands).

She founded a spin-off of the University of Minho in the field of Environmental Biotechnology, serving as scientific director between 2007 and 2014. This business initiative became part of an industrial group with international operations, resulting from the valorization of knowledge generated in pioneering R&D projects that she led.

Between January 2021 and March 2022, he was a member of the Board of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Institute (INL), appointed by the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education. He subsequently assumed the Presidency of that Board between July 2022 and December 2023, transitioning to the Vice-Presidency, which he currently holds.

She is a full member of the Academy of Engineering, the Advisory Board of the Viana do Castelo District Delegation of SEDES, and the Advisory Board of COTEC Portugal. She has been honored with several awards and recognitions, including the 2004 Lettinga Award, given by a consortium of Dutch environmental technology companies, and the 2005 BES Innovation Award. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Technical University of Iași (Romania) and also received honorary distinctions from the Municipal Councils of Viana do Castelo and Braga.