Integrated researchers

João Manuel de Morais Barros Fernandes, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra (UC) since 1999. Graduated in Physics / Applied Mathematics (specialization in Astronomy), University Porto (1991), a PhD in Astrophysics and Space Techniques, University of Paris VII (1996) and habilitation in Physics, University of Coimbra (2014). His areas of research are the formation and evolution of stars, solar physics and the history of astronomy in Portugal. He has published about 90 research papers in international journals and proceedings of scientific conferences and PI of 10 national and international projects. He supervised (or co-supervised) 5 PhD students and 8 pos-docs. He was subdirector of the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra, responsible for the Astronomical and Geophysical Observatory of the UC (2013-2018) and coordinator of the Centre for Earth and Space Research of the University of Coimbra (since 2015-2019). Has been active on outreach (mainly giving lectures in schools) and was the single point of national contact for the International Year of Astronomy 2009, by appointment of the International Astronomical Union. Received the "Faces of the Future" distinction of "Vision" magazine in 2013. More information in http://www.mat.uc.pt/~jmfernan.

Ana Isabel Simões Rola is a Biology and Geology teacher, since 1999. She holds a MSC in Geosciences (specialization in Natural Sciences Teaching) and a PhD in Geology (specialization in History and Methodology of Geological Sciences), at the University of Coimbra. She has published several papers in scientific journals and conferences.

Carlos Moura Martins is Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra (UC), where he has taught since 1999. Graduated in Architecture in the Faculty of Architecture of the University Porto (1986), he holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Coimbra with a thesis on public works in Portugal in late eighteenth century, awarded with the Pina Manique International Research Prize (Academia Portuguesa da História). He is author of the book Os projectos para o porto de São Martinho e campos de Alfeizerão, 1774-1800 (Coimbra: Edarq, 2018) and of the book chapter “A aplicação da ciência à política do território na transição do século XVIII para o século XIX” (Coimbra: Coimbra University Press, 2017). His main research interests are the technical and scientific activity and teaching and research institutions of the Enlightenment.

I am currently developing new tools to assist in the analysis of several types of geomorphological structures using remote sensing data of planetary surfaces. These tools enable for instance the study of past tectonic and erosive processes on Mars, as well as the analysis of present day aeolian activity at the surface of the planet.

Elsa Maria de Carvalho Gomes is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra, since 2001. She got the PhD in Geology, with a speciality in the area of "Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry", from the University of Coimbra, in 2001. She has lectured at undergraduated level the following subjects: Mineralogy, Igneous Petrology, Metamorphic Petrology, Mineral Resources, Structural Geology and Geology of Portugal. She has also lectured at MSc in Geosciences (Seminar in Environmental Geology), at MSc in Teaching of Biology and Geology in the 3rd cycle of Basic and Secondary Education (Observation and Experimentation in Geosciences) and at the PhD course in Geology with some modules of the subject Resources and Environment. She supervised the research of seventeen students that received their MSc degree. Her main areas of research include Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry of igneous and metamorphic rocks, Ore Deposits Metallogenesis, Environmental Geology, especially the study of atmospheric particles in urban and mineral exploration contexts, History of Science, mainly Science Museums and historical collections, and Science Teaching. She is the author and coauthor of thirteen research papers in national and international journals, ten book chapters, twelve conference papers and forty conference abstracts. She also participated in the co-editing of two books and as a co-organizer of four scientific events. She has contributed to the Science outreach, especially giving lectures and workshops for students of Basic and Secondary Education, and giving training for Teachers of the Basic and Secondary Education. She is also a reviewer of teaching resources prepared by Basic and Secondary School Teachers. Currently, she is a member of the Centre for Earth and Space Research of the University of Coimbra (CITEUC).

PhD in Geological Engineering, Applied Geophysics, University of Coimbra (2002), MSc) in Geophysical Sciences, University of Lisboa (1993) and BSc in Geology, University of Coimbra (1989). He is Assistent professor at the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Coimbra (DCT). His main areas of research include Tectonophysics, Seismic Stratigraphy, Salton Tectonics, Geological Hazards and History of Geosciences. He has several papers published in indexed journals and procedures of scientific meetings. He has co-supervised several master's and doctoral theses. He has participated in several research projects involving Portuguese, Spanish, French, Brazilian and Argentinean teams.

Fernando J. G. Pinheiro is a researcher at CITEUC since 2012. He obtained his PhD in Astronomy from Universidade do Porto in 2006. Since then, he has carried out research activity at several research institutions: CAUP, U.C.'s Center for Computational Physics and the Paris Observatory's LESIA laboratory. His fields of expertise include stellar structure and evolution, stellar variability and space weather (actively contributing to CITEUC's SPINLab project). He is a member of the Portuguese Astronomical Society, frequently participating in UC's science popularisation activities, including OGAUC's observation nights and regular outreach articles in the local press.

Fernando B. Figueiredo (b. 1970) has a degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Porto University and an MSc in History and Philosophy of Science from Nova University of Lisbon. He got his PhD in Mathematics from Coimbra University. His research interests are history of astronomy and mathematics, history of instruments, biography and history of the relationship between culture, politics; and science in the Enlightenment and Empire. He has a deep interest in the history and heritage of 18th-century astronomy, observatory sciences, and the circulation of knowledge in 18th-century Europe (center-periphery exchanges and dichotomies). Recently his interests evolved into the 19th-century observatory sciences and physical-mathematical sciences (astronomy, geodesy, meteorology, geomagnetism and seismology). He is PI of the research project, «150 years of the scientific activity of the Geophysical Institute of the University of Coimbra: history and heritage of the Earth and Environment Sciences in Portugal» (PTDC\FER-HFC\30666\2017), financed by FCT (2018-22). The primary purpose of the project is to contribute to an in-depth and multifaceted view of the scientific and institutional history of space and earth observatories of the Coimbra University at the national and international levels. He was coordinator of the Centre for Earth and Space Research of the University of Coimbra (since 2019-21).

Gina P. Correia is a Biology and Geology teacher at middle and high school. She holds a MSC in Environmental Education (2006) and a PhD in Geology (specialization in History and Methodology of Geological Sciences) (2014), at the University of Coimbra. Her research focuses on the science education and the history of science, topics on which she has several publications in scientific meetings and in national and international journals.

Joana Alves Ribeiro obtained her PhD degree in the fall of 2018 with the work “Magnetotelluric studies in detecting an old structure zone and major crustal-scale shear zone (Iberia)” from Lisbon University/IDL. She has participated in numerous campaigns for scientific and industry purposes in the area of Applied Geophysics using different methods such as magnetotelluric, time-domain electromagnetic methods, electrical resistivity and GPR. In 2019, she became part of CITEUC research group and expanded her knowledge in the area of Space Weather and its consequences in the Portuguese Power Network.

José Manuel Martins de Azevedo is Assistant Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Coimbra since 1999 and he is the Scientific Coordinator of Geosciences M.Sc. of the University of Coimbra. He obtained a PhD in eological Engineering (Hydrogeology and Water Resources) by the University of Coimbra, in the year of 1999, and MSc in geology from the same university, in 1988. He has participated and also coordinated several research projects in the domain of groundwater resources domain. Also, he has been developed a great work in what concern the supervision of 21 post-graduate students (18 master; 2 doctoral; 1 post-doctoral). He has published about 68 scientific publications and he is the author and co-author of 36 scientific and technical reports for none-university institution.

Luis Neves is full Professor of the Department of Earth Sciences of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra. With a Ph.D. in Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (1991), he has been developing research in igneous rocks with the help of mathematical tools and GIS. Actual research interests comprise natural hazards, namely natural radioactivity and exposure to radon gas.

Manuel António Salgueiro da Silva is Assistant Professor (1999-) in the Department of Physics and Astronomy (DFA), Faculty of Science of the University of Porto (FCUP). Graduated in Physics (FCUP, 1986; specialization in Condensed Matter and Material Science). PhD in Physics (FCUP, 1999) on magnetism and magnetic properties of materials. Co-founder of MSc in Geophysics of University of Porto (2003-2006). Member of CITEUC (2012-). Scientific interests: experimental methods; digital electronics; computational physics; reflectance spectroscopy of mineral assemblages; climatology; environmental physics; seismo-electromagnetic phenomena; automatic online assessment. Current research areas: study of meteorites and asteroids – modelling of reflectance spectra of meteorites and asteroids and development of a consistent methodology for determination of the mineralogy of asteroids from their reflectance spectra; rock physics – simulation of charge generation and transport in rocks under mechanical action; physics education – active learning and automatic online assessment. Other activities: co-organizer of Asteroid Day Portugal (2016-).

Maria Alexandra Pais graduated in Physics from the University of Coimbra (1988). She obtained a MSc from the University of Lisbon (1993) and a PhD from the Institut de Physique du Globe (1999), in Internal Geophysics. She started her career as a Lecturer at the University of Coimbra (1988) and is presently an Assistant Professor there, having lectured courses as Thermodynamics, Transport Processes, Electromagnetism, Fluid Dynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics.

Her main research has been in the field of geomagnetism, i.e., the study of the source mechanism and time variations of the main magnetic field of the Earth, but also its coupling with the near-Earth space environment. She is expert in the inversion of geomagnetic field models for Earth core flows, Earth fluid core dynamics and mathematical methods for geomagnetic data analysis and has been involved in studies relating geomagnetism to space weather.

She authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific publications, from which 30 in peer-reviewed journals, co-supervised 3 PhD thesis and supervised a number of MSc thesis and scientific research grants. She has been reviewer of manuscripts for several international scientific journals and member of evaluation panels for scientific projects and research grants. She was PI of 2 FCT projects and several bilateral agreements with French research institutions. She is the national representative for IAGA (International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy) since 2015.

Licenciada em Psicologia e Doutorada em Psicologia Pedagógica pela Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra (FPCEUC). Exerceu funções docentes na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC), na área de Formação de Professores/as, e desde 2015, exerce as referidas funções na FPCEUC, colaborando com os Cursos de Licenciatura, Mestrado e Doutoramento em Ciências da Educação e os Mestrados em Ensino da Universidade de Coimbra. Tem participado em projetos nacionais e internacionais e na publicação de vários trabalhos sobre psicologia da educação e do desenvolvimento, processos de ensino e aprendizagem, educação inclusiva, formação de professores/as e formadores/as, avaliação das aprendizagens e institucional. Tem integrado equipas de Avaliação Externa de Escolas, colaborando com a Inspeção Geral de Educação e Ciência.

PhD in Geology, University of Coimbra, MSc in Geochemistry, University of Aveiro, and BSc in Geology, University of Coimbra. She is Associate professor at the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Coimbra. Her main areas of research include Geochemistry, Igneous Petrology and Environmental Geochemistry. Has dozens of research papers in the web-of-science.

He is member of the F.C.T.U.C. Earth Sciences Department since November of 1988 and Assistant Teacher since July of 1998, after finishing a PhD on the Upper Cretaceous of Portugal. Since 2002 is member of the Italian and Spanish Societies of Malacology and still researching on modern and Pleistocene mollusks. From 2004 to 2010 was the last coordinator of the Museum of Mineralogy and Geology of the University of Coimbra, a museological structure that is presently in course of modernization as part of the whole Museum of Science. Since 2008 is member of the international scientific committee charged of the exhibition planning of the new Museum of Science of the University of Coimbra. Is also a member of the new scientific teem for the curation of the collections. He is member of the CGUC since early 2008, and was Coordinator of this Unit of I&D from 2009 to June of 2010.His main research areas are the Stratigraphy and invertebrate Palaeontology of the Upper Cretaceous, with emphasis on mollusc systematics, palaeoecology and palaeoclimatology. He is also an active researcher on Zooarchaeology and Pleistocene marine and land molluscan assemblages. At the same time he develops work on the history of Geology and Paleontology, both teaching, early field work and researches, and historic museology.

Rosa Doran has a degree in Physics from the Pontifical Catholic University in São Paulo, Brazil.; MSc in High Energies and Gravitation, at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon: "Schwarzschild Black Holes and its Cosmological Applications" and PhD in Science Teaching from the University of Coimbra: "On Teacher Training and Community Building for Innovation in Education: Strategies to Improve Science Learning in Classroom; is a certified trainer by CCPFC (University of Minho, Portugal) in the areas of Physics, Astronomy and Science Teaching. Since 1992, the main activities are related to scientific research, outreach, and scientific education. She is currently president of NUCLIO (Núcleo Interativo de Astronomia e Inovação em Educação - https://nuclio.org/en), a non-profit association and NGO for development, dedicated to innovation in teaching. She is also a researcher at the Centre for Earth and Space Research of the University of Coimbra. At the international level, she is President of the executive board of the Global Hands-on Universe Association (https://handsonuniverse.org/), a global institution dedicated to Astronomy Education; chair of the Galileo Teacher Training Program for teacher training, one of the legacies of the International Year of Astronomy 2009; chair of the COSPAR education panel, co-chair of the Portuguese Language Office of Astronomy for Development of the International Astronomical Union. She was awarded in 2022 with the inaugural prize of the International Astronomical Union for Astronomy Education. She has published 12 papers in refereed journals and has 2 chapters in books related to science outreach and education. She has coordinated over 60 projects funded by the European Commission and several global initiatives (https://nuclio.org/en/projects/). She has co-organised professional development for educators in over 40 countries having reached over 70.000 educators at a global level.

Teresa M. Seixas is an assistant professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (since 1999). Master's (FCUP, 1991) and Bachelor's in Physics (FCUP, 1987) with specialization in Solid State Physics and Material Sciences. PhD in Physics (FCUP, 1999) on magnetism and structural properties of rare earth and transition metals alloys.

Co-director of CITEUC and member of CITEUC board (2023-); convener of monthly seminars; manager of the website. Co-founder and coordinator of the first Master’s Degree in Geophysics at the University of Porto (2003-2006); co-created new courses (Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism, Geophysics, … ), lectured several courses and supervised master thesis. Co-founder as well the Institute of Materials Physics at UP, serving as Director of the Materials Laboratory from 2002 to 2008. FCUP’ s member of the coordinating council of the Collaboratory for Geosciences (C4G), where she coordinated the Integrated Services for Cosmic Risk Mitigation and contributed to the Rock Physics and Geomechanics Laboratory (2016-2023).

Co-responsible for creating new courses at FCUP and UC, including Climatology and Climate Change at FCUP (2012, 2013) and FEUP (2021). Co-lectured A3C - Ageing, Climate Change and Citizenship (1st, 2nd and 3rd eds., EUGLOH), from 2019 to 2022, and co-lectured as well Reflectance Spectroscopy of Asteroids and Computational Methods Applied to Geophysics at the University of Coimbra for the Erasmus Mundus GeoPlaNet Master Degree in 2023.

Her research focuses on Physics, particularly the study of meteorites and asteroids, including the modeling of their reflectance spectra and the development of a consistent methodology for determining the mineralogy of asteroids from their reflectance spectra. She is also actively engaged in Physics Education, including active learning, online assessment, and self-regulated learning. She is being involved, as PI, local Co-PI and researcher, in various international and national projects in Physics, Planetary Geosciences, and Education, funded by the EU and the Portuguese FCT. Other activities: co-coordinator of Asteroid Day Portugal (since 2016), co-organized the event in collaboration with Angola in 2020-21.

Vasco Manuel Mantas is a Principal Investigator at the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Coimbra. Holding a PhD in Geology, his research interests are focused on the use of Earth Observation data for environmental monitoring. He has lead and participated in multiple international and national research and technology transfer projects with a strong interdisciplinary emphasis. Currently he is coordinating project FOCUS (Horizon 2020), which aims at introducing innovative solutions for change detection and monitoring of European forest ecosystems. Previous projects included the analysis of dense time series applied to the oceanic domain and the atmosphere, mapping land use and land cover using satellite data, detecting and monitoring the by-products of submarine volcanic eruptions or developing data dissemination platforms.

Fábio Monteiro obtained his degree in Tourism, Leisure, and Heritage from the University of Coimbra in 2013, followed by a Master's in Cultural Heritage and Museology in 2023, also at the same university. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Cultural Heritage and Museology. Since 2017, he has been serving as a Senior Technician at the University of Coimbra, initially in the Tourism Department (2017-2022) and presently at the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (since 2022). His primary research and professional focus encompass collections management, science communication and interpretation, museography, and exhibition development. He is currently a member of CITEUC - Centre for Earth and Space Research of the University of Coimbra.

He has a degree in Geological Engineering from the University of Aveiro (1993) and Master in Dynamic Geology (with specialization in Geodynamics), University of Lisbon (1998). He is currently senior technician (area of Atmospheric Physics and Geophysics) at the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra (OGAUC); with responsibilities in the operation, maintenance and modernization of their magnetic and meteorological observatories. Has developed further studies at the Research Centre of the Earth and Space of the University of Coimbra (CITEUC) in the areas of: (1) Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (with emphasis on the study of the issues and methods of geomagnetic observation, and in identifying and interpreting changes in spatio-temporal properties of the geomagnetic field, as well as the processes of interaction Sun-Earth and Space Weather); (2) Paleomagnetism and Magnetism of Rocks (with special attention to the processes of acquisition and re-magnetization, and its implications in tectonics and geodynamics studies of Iberia); (3) History of Science (with particular interest in the historical development of geophysics in Portugal).