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Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu, Advisor to the President of the Government of the Azores, Blue Azores Program Manager

Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu is an Advisor for the President of the Government of the Azores, responsible for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. In this role, he is also the Government representative for the Blue Azores Program. During his more than 20 years as a naval officer in the Portuguese Navy, he was assigned various leadership positions in navigation, oceanography, fisheries control, search and rescue and maritime communications. After becoming an architect, in recent years, he developed his practice between Lisbon and the Azores. He is also the founder and director of the “Pico do Refugio” art residency program. With more than 40 editions, since 2015, the program focuses on bringing together international contemporary artists and the local community of São Miguel Island.

Carlos Alho, Researcher in Sustainable Land Use, Wageningen Environmental Research

Carlos Alho is a researcher in Sustainable Land Use at Wageningen Environmental Research (Water & Food Team) with a PhD in Production Ecology & Resource Conservation from Wageningen University (Soil Biology Group). His current research interests are in food systems transformations, and he is particularly interested in the relationship between soil health, circularity, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and livelihoods.

Maria Andrzejewska, Director General, UNEP/GRID-Warsaw

A graduate of the University of Warsaw with many years of experience in environmental projects. UN Environment Program (UNEP) and EU’s expert in environmental data analysis. Involved in the UNEP’s GEO-6 report, for which she was awarded the 2020 Prose Awards (Association of American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence) in the category of environmental sciences. Awarded by the Minister of the Environment in Poland for special scientific and research achievements in the field of protection, shaping and use of the environment and its resources. Initiator of the SDG Partnership “Together for the Environment” (2016), co-founder of the Climate Leadership Program, Sustainable Development Leader of FORBES Women Poland magazine (2021). Awarded with the Green Eagle of Rzeczpospolita, the Polish most influential daily (2021) – distinction in the TITAN category.

Christoph Aubrecht, Programme Coordinator, Global Development Assistance, European Space Agency

Christoph manages the Global Development Assistance #GDA program at the European Space Agency, implemented under a strategic cooperation framework with World Bank and ADB. He joined ESA in 2016, initially serving as ESA representative and senior advisor to the WB. Prior to joining ESA, Chris led the spatial analytics efforts under the WB CDRP Disaster Resilience initiative. He has gained cross-disciplinary experience through positions across academia, public, private, and intergov. institutions incl. GFDRR, NOAA, Astrium, Columbia U, and AIT. He holds MSc and PhD degrees in GI science and remote sensing (U Vienna, TU Vienna) and certificates in executive leadership & management development and impact communication (Harvard U, Cambridge U).

Marco Bettencourt, CEO & Founder, Redcatpig Studio

A portuguese that grew up in Brazil and married an American. Father of two humans. Not affraid of failing, been there and learned. IoT enthusiast, gamer, crazy about super-heroes and Star-Wars. Business manager for 15 years. Redcatpig Studio’s CEO and founder, an award winning studio from the Azores, Portugal.

Francisco Campuzano, Researcher & Project Manager, +ATLANTIC CoLAB

Francisco Campuzano is an oceanographer and numerical modeller at +ATLANTIC CoLAB. He was formed in the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) and holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal) and an M.Sc. in Estuarine and Coastal Management and Science from the University of Hull (U.K.). He was involved in more than 20 European and national research projects. He is co-chair of the ICES WGOOFE WG, member of three EuroGOOS Working Groups: IBI-ROOS, MONGOOS and Coastal WG and member of Copernicus Marine Service Champion User Advisory Group (CUAG). In recent times, he has development water continuum operational systems linking watersheds, estuaries and open ocean.

Paulo Caridade, Co-Founder & CTO, Space Layer Technologies

Paulo Jorge Caridade, born in Coimbra in 1977, graduated in Geography from the University of Coimbra in Portugal, specialist in Spatial Planning. Founder and CEO of PRIMELAYER, a company dedicated to the use of GIS tools in open-source software for decision support platforms, with artificial intelligence
and machine learning. Co-founder and CTO of Space Layer Technologies and Sensor Observation of the Concept of Urban Life (SOUL). Startup that uses spatial data in non-spatial applications. The SOUL project is funded by the European Union through a SOUL-FI initiative for smart cities that are being incubated in the European Space Agency’;s Business Incubator System. He also participates in the Global Building Innovators/MIT Portugal.

Mariangel Vieira Castro, Research Student, Instituto de Telecomunicações

Mariangel Vieira Castro is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering at the University of Aveiro in Portugal while also working as a Research Student at the Institute of Telecommunications. For her Master’s thesis, Mariangel’s research has explored different modulation techniques to enhance data processing from radar altimeters. Additionally, she is actively involved in the MAGAL project, an initiative aimed at developing a low-cost, compact, and energy-efficient Radar Altimeter for oceanographic studies.

Thierry Chopin, Professor, University of New Brunswick

Thierry Chopin is a Professor of Marine Biology at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John (Canada). His research focuses on the ecophysiology, biochemistry and cultivation of seaweeds of commercial value and the development of responsible and efficient Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) systems for increased environmental sustainability, economic diversification and societal acceptability. From 2009 to 2017, he was the Scientific Director of the Canadian IMTA Network (CIMTAN), an interdisciplinary strategic network of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He promotes a greener Blue Economy, the Turquoise Economy, in which ecosystem services, provided by extractive aquaculture (seaweeds and invertebrates), are recognized, valued and used as financial and regulatory incentives, through nutrient trading credits, within a circular economy approach. He created two companies, Chopin Coastal Health Solutions Inc., in 2016, and The Turquoise Revolution Inc., in 2022.

Sofia Cordeiro, Coordinator of the Ocean Programme, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)

Sofia Cordeiro is the Coordinator of the Ocean Programme of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) since 2016, where she maximises the dialogue among the different scientific communities that are part of the ocean transdisciplinary area and supports the participation of Portugal and/or FCT in European and international organizations associated with ocean issues (JPI Oceans, EMB, ECORD/IODP, OECD Ocean Economy and Innovation Working Group). Sofia is currently deeply involved in science diplomacy activities in the Atlantic basin, being the coordinator of the H2020 project AANChOR CSA aimed at supporting the implementation of the Belém Statement.

Miguel Correia, Founder, Eyecon Group

Miguel Correia, Eyecon Group’s founder, Miguel is an experienced executive in public and private organizations, having worked in ports, public health, and the software industries. Miguel has a degree in economics and a passion for data science. His goal is to promote the development of models that can predict natural disasters and make them available all over the world.

Nuno Cota, Founding Partner at SOLVIT, Adjunct Professor at the ISEL- Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa

Nuno Cota is the Vice-president of the Council of Profession of the Order of Technical Engineers. Adjunct professor at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, where he teaches in the area of telecommunications engineering in undergraduate and master’s courses since 1996. Founding partner of the company SOLVIT – Innovation on Telecommunications. Responsible for several consulting and R&D projects in information and communication technologies in critical systems, with public and private entities. Member of the CUSTODIAN consortium, a solution for a more sustainable and profitable fishing.

Tiago Cristóvão, Co-Founder & COO, Undersee

Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Coimbra and specialized in Production and Design in 2015. He has additional skills in computing
systems, mechanical design and robotics acquired from companies such as Ative Space Technologies and Ingeniarius. He is co-founder and current COO of Undersee. Participated in Blue Bio Value and Katapult Ocean and Olaisen Blue Acceleration Programs focused on the blue economy, aquaculture and sustainable business.

António Cunha, President, Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the North

António Cunha has a degree in Production Engineering from UMinho (1984) and a PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering (1991) from the same institution, where he has been Full Professor since 2003, developing research at the Institute of Polymers and Composites / I3N (Associated Laboratory) , as a specialist in the processing and behavior of polymers and composites. He was President of the School of Engineering at UMinho and administrator of PIEP (Innovation in Polymer Engineering) and CEIIA (Center of Excellence and Innovation for the Automotive Industry). Chairs the CEER Function Padroado (association between the universities of Northern Portugal and Galicia) and the Casa de Mateus International Institute. He is currently President of the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the North.

Elizabeth Domingues, Project Manager, SAPc

Elizabeth graduated in Zootechnical Engineering in 1998 from the University of the Azores, with a degree curriculum internship at the United States Department of Agriculture – USDA. Specialized in ruminant nutrition at CVT – Centre Veterinari de Tona in Barcelona. Worked for 3 years with Semex Portugal in Genetic improvement for Holstein Frisian breed. Has worked with different companies in animal nutrition. Works for Unicol as a dairy nutritionist since 2005. Specialized in grazing systems at Teagasc in Ireland.

Isa Elegbede, Assistant Lecturer, Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU)

Isa Elegbede has a PhD in Environmental Sciences (Sustainability science) from the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), Cottbus, Germany, an M.Sc. in Environmental and Resource Management (ERM) from the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), Cottbus, Germany, an M.Sc. on Marine Sciences (Marine Pollution and Management) from the University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria, and a B.Sc. (Hons) Fisheries and Aquatic Biology from the Lagos State University, Ojo, Nigeria. He is an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Planning, Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany, and he was a Visiting Graduate Scholar at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies & College of Sustainability Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Mar – July 2019).

Gael Forget, Research Scientist, MIT

Currently works as a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. Research interests and expertise include satellite observations, ocean robots, marine ecosystems, ocean physics, numerical modeling, and estimation in general (incl. AI, ML, DA, & AD).  Created the JuliaOcean and JuliaClimate organizations. Lead developer  of a series of Julia packages focused on ocean and climate science. Involved with several NASA and ESA labs focused on  remote sensing of the ocean (SST, SSS, sea level, gravimetry, ocean color).

Nuno Freitas, Founder & CEO, MEDSIMLAB

Nuno Freitas, born in Coimbra, holds a degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra in 1996, the General Medical Internship and the
Complementary Specialty in Anesthesiology in hospitals of the University of Coimbra and with post-graduations in Medical Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra and in Anesthesiology from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. He is an advanced medical simulation instructor from Harvard Medical School and Founder and CEO of MEDSIMLAB, venture founded in Pedro Nunes Institute (IPN), a scale-up created on the motto “Medical Simulation for Best Practices” that is dedicated to high-fidelity medical simulation, seeking to introduce improvements in the teaching and continuous training of students and health professionals.

Eva Giacomello, Assistant Researcher, Okeanos – University of the Azores

Eva Giacomello is a biologist, working as an Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences – Okeanos, University of the Azores. She has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Padua, Italy. Her research interests include fish ecology and biology, seamount management and conservation, and marine ecosystem services. Eva started her scientific career studying the reproduction of fishes at the University of Padua. She then moved to the University of the Azores, broadening her knowledge and expertise in deep-sea resource management and conservation issues. She is currently working on the ecology of demersal and deep- sea fishes, and responses of fish communities to ecological pressures, with special emphasis on the Condor seamount marine protected area.

Artur Gil, Vice-Rector for Science, Innovation, and Knowledge Transfer, University of Azores

Artur Gil is a Biophysical Engineer with an MSc in Spatial Planning and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences. He’s currently Vice- Rector for “Science, Innovation, and Knowledge Transfer” at the University of the Azores (Portugal) and the Director of InUAc, the University of the Azores’ Incubator and Knowledge Transfer Centre. His research line used to focus on developing geospatial applications, products, and indicators to support decision-making on Land Management and Spatial Planning in remote areas such as oceanic islands. He published more than 60 articles in Web of Science and SCOPUS-indexed peer-reviewed scientific journals with about 700 scientists from many different countries and with diverse scientific backgrounds.”).

Vera Helene Hausner, Professor, UIT – the Arctic University of Norway

Vera Helene Hausner is a Professor in Sustainability Science at UIT-the Arctic University of Norway. She is the head of the Arctic Sustainability Lab and is working with transformative change, coastal socio-ecological systems, ecosystem-based approaches to management and climate adaptation, citizen science, ILK, and new technologies and approaches for interdisciplinary and collaborative science in coastal areas (see www.arcticsustainability.com). She is a lead author of the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment and a coordinating lead author of the Arctic Council’s societal implications of climate change report.

Fabio Hochleitner, Research Scientist, LAMCE/COPPE/UFRJ

Fabio Hochleitner holds a degree in Meteorology at the Institute of Geosciences (IGEO) and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering (Water Resources/Atmospheric Sciences) at the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute of Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (COPPE), both at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Doctoral thesis for the development of a methodology for the creation of “Integration and Analysis of Multisensor Satellite Data for the Development of Digital Twins for the Blue Economy” at the Laboratory of Computational Methods in Engineering (LAMCE) at COPPE/UFRJ. He served as Substitute Professor at the Meteorology Department teaching the disciplines of Numerical Methods and Computational Modeling. Founder of Aquamet Meteorologia, a technology-based company operating in the areas of Meteorology and Oceanography spin-off from LAMCE at the UFRJ Technological Park. He currently works as a Research Scientist at LAMCE/COPPE/UFRJ in Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and acquisition of environmental data, being responsible for the Environmental Satellite Data Dissemination Center.

João Bentes de Jesus, Institutional Relations Manager, GEOSAT

João Bentes de Jesus is currently working as an Institutional Relations Manager at GEOSAT. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Development Studies at the University of Lisbon, where his research focuses on the barriers to adoption of Earth Observation technologies in developing nations. He has a Master’s Degree
in Aerospace Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, and an Executive Space Course from the International Space University. Previously, he worked as a Project and Business Developer at the Atlantic International Research Centre. During this time, he also served as a Co-chair for Team Project on Space- Climate-Ocean for the International Space University Space Studies Program and as a Strategic Advisor for the Portuguese Chairmanship of the Eureka Network.

Manuela Juliano, Professor, University of the Azores

Manuela Juliano, University of the Azores, Professor graduated in Geophysical Sciences, specialization in Physical Oceanography by the University of Lisbon. Her scientific activity began by focusing on large-scale ocean circulation, relying on the experience acquired in the acquisition of in situ data and respective validation. Later, she started working in numerical modeling, with the implementation of operational models not only in the Azores, but in other regions of the Atlantic, such as Brazil and Angola. Also, she has been working in areas of oceanography that involve a multidisciplinary with other areas such as renewable energies, biology and fisheries, and is currently developing larval dispersal models.

Gary Kett, All-Atlantic Ocean Youth Ambassador for Ireland, University College Cork

Gary Kett is a Marine Ecologist with a PhD. in Zoology from University College Cork, Ireland. His primary experience is in underwater noise pollution and impact mitigation, fisheries monitoring, shellfish health, and enacting European biodiversity and conservation directives. Gary has spent the last two years serving as Ireland’s All-Atlantic Ocean Youth Ambassador for the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, in this role he created media content for ocean literacy and stewardship campaigns, elevated youth voices to high-level dialogues, promoted community involvement and developed local participatory citizenship. Gary is an advocate for effective, inclusive Ocean science policymaking that bridges communities, researchers, innovators, and governments to create sustainable, healthy, and thriving ocean ecosystems and economies.”

Thorsten Kiefer, Executive Director, JPI Oceans

Thorsten Kiefer is the Executive Director JPI Oceans. He has a vast experience in the management of international research and innovation programmes. Before joining JPI Oceans, he was at Future Earth as director of the Global Hub in Paris, working with researchers and innovators on the big societal challenge of transitioning the world to global sustainability. Previously, he was the Executive Director of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) programme in Switzerland. In his earlier days as a researcher, he had specialised in the field of palaeoceanography. At the Universities of Kiel, Germany, and Cambridge, UK, he analysed deep-sea sediments to study the substantial changes that occurred in ocean and climate over the past thousands to ten-thousands of years.

Clara Lázaro, Assistant Professor, FCUP

Clara Lázaro is a staff member of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Portugal, since 1999. She holds an MSc in Remote Sensing and a Ph.D. in Surveying Engineering, both attained at the FCUP. She is currently an Assistant Professor at FCUP, where she is responsible for teaching e.g. Geodesy, Reference Systems, Remote Sensing, and Satellite Altimetry, and the Director of the FCUP Master in Surveying Engineering. Her area of research and expertise is Satellite Radar Altimetry. Her research focuses both on the development of methodologies for the improvement of the tropospheric corrections for use in Satellite Altimetry and on the application of Satellite Altimetry for ocean circulation and sea level studies.

Adriano Lima, Senior Project Officer and MBON Scientific Programmer, AIR Centre

Adriano Lima is a Senior Project Officer and MBON Scientific Programmer at the Air Centre. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with emphasis on environmental hydraulics from Hokkaido University, Japan. He has experience working as assistant professor, principal researcher and team manager, with focus on computational fluid dynamics, data science, aquaculture and multiple sectors of the blue economy.

Filipa Lourenço, Senior Project Manager, NEURASPACE

Filipa Lourenço is a Project Manager at NEURASPACE managing the AI FIGHTS SPACE DEBRIS PRR project, for the Agendas/Alianças mobilizadoras para a reindustrialização, PRR EUNextGen. She has over 7 years’ experience in the space sector, including company operationalization, business development and strategy, business unit management, project and programme management for ESA. She holds a master’s degree in Physic Engineering by the NOVA School of Science and Technology of the NOVA University Lisbon and a postgraduate in General Management Program (PDE) by the AESE Business School – IESE ASSOCIATED SCHOOLS.

Cristina Ponte Lira, Researcher, Instituto Dom Luiz – IDL

Cristina Lira is a Coastal Geologist working at Instituto Dom Luiz (FCUL). She holds a Licenciatura in Environmental and Applied Geology, and a MSc (2006) and PhD (2011) in Georesources from Instituto Superior Técnico (UL), specializing in Image Analysis and Remote Sensing applied to Geosciences. Her main research activities are in coastal morphodynamics, with a strong background in surveying, monitoring and modelling the coastal system. She uses Remote Sensing, GIS and Image Analysis to study this extremely dynamic environment with the highest spatial and time resolutions possible. She has developed her activities mainly in I&D, but they have also been strongly linked with applied science and knowledge transfer to coastal managers and stakeholders. She is also an invited lecture at the Department of Geology at FCUL since 2014 at the BSc and MSc level. She has more than 25 publications and is has supervised 3 PhD and 6 MSc students. She participated in 15 research projects, 3 of them as Principal Investigator, and 7 consultancy projects.

Jorge Magalhães, Senior Researcher and Invited Professor, CIIMAR and University of Porto

Jorge M. Magalhaes is a physical oceanographer. He finished his PhD in 2012 (in the University Porto, Portugal), where he used satellite remote sensing to study internal waves in the ocean. Currently he is a senior researcher in CIIMAR and an invited professor at the University of Porto and Ocean University of China, where he continues to pursue sea surface processes via satellite remote sensing and numerical modelling, including internal waves, surface currents, river plumes, and eddies.

Arlindo Marques, Space Product Manager, EFACEC

Arlindo Marques has a Pre-Bologna MSc degree in Electronics and Telecommunication by Aveiro University in 1997. During its MSc degree, worked at “Instituto de Telecomunicações”, Aveiro as research in few European projects. In that period, worked three months at Bosch, Hildesheim, Germany, as integrator responsible of the SAMBA project. In 1999 joins EFACEC group, at its telecommunications sector, where develop several projects for PDH and SDH, line and tributary interfaces, as project manager. In 2007 moved to the space department, evolving to system engineer and technical manager, coordinating the team, the partners and interfacing the client, where had been the conceptual responsible and developer of several instruments that flew in space missions, namely radiation monitors. Currently beyond supporting the space activity, he is the product manager of the sector.

Ana Martins, Associate Professor, University of Açores (UAc)

PhD (Doctor Communitatis Europeae) in Ocean Sciences (Applied and Fundamental Physics Program), Master in Oceanography and license in Biology. Associate Professor of Oceanography at the University of the Azores. Coordinator of the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries. Director of the Master Course in Integrated Studies of the Oceans and the License course in Ocean Sciences. Member: Institute Okeanos, IMAR, EO NEREUS Group, among others. Oceanography team leader. Responsible for installing the first HRPT satellite receiving station in the Azores. International fellowships or prizes include Fulbright, FLAD, AAUW, NASA, Space Girls Space Women, and team winners of the 2021 International Copernicus Masters competition.

Duarte Mendonça, Director, Biotechnology Centre of Azores (CBA)

Duarte Mendonça is currently Director of the Biotechnology Centre of Azores (CBA) and Assistant Researcher at the University of the Azores. He is graduated in Agricultural Engineering at the University of the Azores and, at the same institution, he obtained his PhD in Agricultural Sciences, specializing in Genetics and Breeding. He started his scientific activity at the Plant Biotechnology Unit of the Institute of Applied Microbiology (Vienna, Austria). There, he also conducted most of the research work for its PhD thesis. His main research interests are in the field of Plant Biotechnology, with special focus on Molecular Phytopathology, Plant Virology, Plant Tissue Culture and Characterization of Genetic Resources.

Nuno Mendonça, Coordinator of UC Business, University of Coimbra

PhD by the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa; MBA for Executives, in 2013, Faculty of Economics of the Universidade de Coimbra. Since 2019, he is coordinator of UC Business, the technology transfer office of the Universidade de Coimbra. Responsible for the national and international projects InovC+, UI-CAN, UI-Transfer, HIVE and Inespo Plus, which aim at the transfer of knowledge and technology and support of entrepreneurship. At the same time, I am executive secretary of MetaRedX in Portugal, aiming at the training and valorization of two entrepreneurship cabinets of national Higher Education Institutions. Between 2016 and 2019, I was executive director of the Figueira da Foz Sea & Industry Incubator.

Paulo Oliveira, Researcher, IPMA – Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera

Paulo Brás de Oliveira completed the Licenciatura in Geophysical Sciences in 1990 and the PhD in Physical Oceanography in 2000 by the Faculty of Sciences of Lisbon University. He has been a Researcher at IPMA (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera) since 2001. Published 35 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Co-supervised 2 PhD theses, 4 MSc dissertations) and 2 works of course completion of LSc/BSc. Participates and/or participated as Principal investigator or Team member in various national and international Research Projects in Marine Sciences and Technologies, mainly to study the role of the physical processes in phytoplankton dynamics and the variability of marine resources.

Natalia Ospina-Alvarez, Senior Project Officer and Innovation Manager in Blue Economy, AIR Centre

Natalia Ospina-Alvarez is a Marine Geoscientist and Environmental Researcher specialising in Coastal and Marine Systems. She holds a PhD in Marine Sciences from the University of Barcelona and has participated in more than 15 international research projects with multidisciplinary teams from different countries. Over the last 15 years, she has worked as a researcher at several research institutes and universities in Europe, having the opportunity to address various approaches and methodologies for analysis and monitoring of trace elements and emerging contaminants in the environment and participating in oceanographic cruises in diverse sea basins.  Currently is a Senior Project Officer and Innovation Manager in Blue Economy at the AIR Centre.

Esmée Oudijk, PhD Candidate, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Esmée Oudijk is a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim at the department of Engineering Cybernetics. Her passion is to find a sustainable way to monitor the oceans because she firmly believes that only if water is monitored and managed wisely it is possible to combine the needs of human activities and ecosystems in a sustainable way. Her work focuses on combining numerical ocean modelling and (hyperspectral) satellite data to overcome temporal and spatial gaps in satellite data and errors in ocean modelling. Previously, she worked on compression algorithms for hyperspectral data at the University Centre in Svalbard. For her M.Sc. thesis, she studied the effects of freshwater discharge on sea-Level variability in back-barrier estuaries at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, after which she received her M.Sc. degree in Applied Physics from the Eindhoven University of Technology.

Marc Pacheco, Founding President & CEO, Transatlantic Climate Alliance

Marc R. Pacheco, Founding President & CEO of the Transatlantic Climate Alliance, currently serves as Dean of the Massachusetts Senate & Founding Chair of the Council of State Governments (CSG) U.S. State Legislative Climate Alliance. Senator Pacheco has been appointed to several national leadership positions, currently serving on the National Conference of State Legislators National Task Force on Energy Supply as well as Co-Chair of the CSG-East Energy & Environment Committee, which serves 11 States, 5 Canadian Provinces, Puerto Rico, & the U.S. Virgin Islands. Senator Pacheco is an Al Gore Climate Messenger, a long-time advocate for urgent climate action, and a dedicated proponent of a swift transition to clean and renewable energy.

Luz Paramio, Directive Board Member, Regional Science and Technology Fund (FRCT) – Azores Regional Government Vice Presidency

Luz Paramio is a member of the Executive Board of the Regional Science and Technology Fund (FRCT), at the Vice-Presidency of the Azores Regional Government (Portugal), responsible for the Research & Innovation International Programs. Luz has developed research as a Postdoc in Ocean Governance & Economy, PhD in Geography: MSP & Ocean governance from the University of Azores, an MSc in Coastal and Marine Management from the University of Cadiz (Spain) and she has a Degree in Marine Sciences by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). Luz has worked on Marine Protected Areas, MSP, Ocean Governance & Blue Economy issues for more than 20 years. In the last years, Luz has coordinated several European projects of the Regional Government of the Azores regarding Maritime Affairs, Marine Biodiversity, and MSP.

Carolina Peralta, OBIS node manager for the Caribbean and northern South America

Carolina Peralta has a Bachelor’s in Biology from Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina) (2004) and a PhD in Natural Science from Universidad Simón Bolívar (Venezuela) (2012), with a background in Marine Biology. She is a marine biology researcher with many years of experience in the reproductive biology and feeding behaviour of marine Caenogastropoda. She has more than 10 years of academic experience in teaching, research and outreach activities related to Marine Invertebrate Biology, Marine Biodiversity associated with Seagrass Ecosystem and Marine Invasive Species. Since 2016 she has been involved with OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Observation Network, www.obis.org), a global data platform that acts as a data and information clearinghouse on marine biodiversity. Recently, she was selected as part of the Ocean Best Practices System, especially for Capacity Development, Communication and Outreach activities. She is starting to join the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing team at the University of South Florida (IMaRS -USF) as a postdoc, working on a project on nitrogen pollution in coastal waters.

Livia Pian, Researcher in the Sustainability and Sensing Team, SFCOLAB

Livia Bischof Pian is an agricultural engineer, with a Doctor’s and Master’s degree in Agronomy (Soil Science) and a specialization in Biodynamic Agriculture. She worked and provided technical assistance on organic and biodynamic farms in Brazil, Portugal, and Germany. Also, participated in research projects related to agronomic and economic viability, carbon footprint, soil quality, and organic fertilizers. Currently, she is a researcher at the SFCOLAB, in the Sustainability and Sensing Team, developing digital, customized, and affordable solutions for the agricultural sector.

João Pinelo, Head of Data Science, Cloud Infrastructure, and Development, AIR Centre

I am responsible for data pipelines, systems’ architectures and the datacentre, including the Direct Receiving Station, that processes Earth Observation satellite data in real-time. I create and develop custom GIS, and I am the Chief Architect of the Azorean IoT network. I earned a PhD from University College London and I was the Chairman and Chief Product Officer of Strategic Spatial Solutions Inc., which I co-founded in Berkeley, California.

Paulo Quental, Coordinator of the Azores Mission Structure for Space

A native of the Azores, 32 years old and holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. At the moment is the Coordinator of the Azores Mission Structure for Space, responsible for the coordination with the Portuguese Space Agency and other stakeholders, to attract space projects and develop the space sector in the Azores. His previous experience includes teaching and researching at the Technical University of Lisbon, technological companies, where we worked in project management, production management and energy production. Joined the Portuguese Space Agency in 2021,  carrying out project management duties in the field of space transportation and access to space. He is also involved in the development and analysis of opportunities in the national and international space sector, supervising activity licensing, financing and strategic definition processes in space access projects, such as launchers, propulsion systems and stratospheric platforms.

Pedro Ribeiro, Technical Manager, DEIMOS

Pedro Ribeiro is an oceanographer and Master in Geography, currently working as Technical Manager in Earth observation downstream services. His main area of expertise is physical oceanography, which involves remote sensing, field measurements and numerical modelling of waves, currents and tides. Over a broad career in both the public and private sectors, he developed several different activities that ranged from data acquisition and application design to team management and business development. Within his current role, he leads the identification and analysis of user requirements for EO-based maritime and coastal applications, acting as a liaison between the technical teams and all the engaged stakeholders.

André Dionisio Rocha, Professor at NOVA University of Lisbon and Senior Researcher at UNINOVA

Andre Dionisio Rocha received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is currently a Professor at NOVA University of Lisbon and a Senior Researcher at the Centre of Technology and Systems, UNINOVA Institute. He has participated in several research projects at the national and European levels. His research interests include designing and developing cyber-physical systems or industrial IoT and studying innovative solutions using modularity and artificial intelligence to deliver more cost-effective and sustainable solutions. As a result of his research activities, he published several scientific contributions in scientific journals and international conferences.

Mónica Rocha, Technical Coordinator of Cozinha Económica Angrense and Chief Operations Officer at Circular Blue

Mónica Rocha has a degree in Social Education from the Porto School of Education. He has a postgraduate degree in Risk Behavior from the University of the Azores and advanced training in Social Economy projects from IES. She is currently Technical Coordinator of Cozinha Económica Angrense since 2004 and Chief Operations Officer at Empresa Circular Blue. She was a deputy in the Regional Legislative Assembly between 2016 and 2020, was President of the Food Bank Against Hunger of Terceira Island between 2020-2021; coordinator of the ASTECIA Distribution Commission between 2010-2020 and President of Bio Azórica, during between 2011-2020.

Nieta Rocha, Manager, Circular Blue

Nieta da Ponte Rocha is a certified artisan by the Regional Centre of Handicrafts in Azores (CRAA), she left her hometown Angra do Heroísmo in Azores, to begin her academic journey at the University of Minho in Guimarães where she founded her first atelier providing architecture and interior decoration services. She is a promotor of the project Azores EcoBlue, which considers the socio-economic role of the fishing sector in the Azores, exploring the opportunity to use and develop new and innovative raw materials, transforming marine litter, which is currently little or no valued in this Region, into a market of excellence as a ‘supplier’.

João Rodrigues, Oceanographer, HIDROMOD

João Rodrigues is an experienced oceanographer who currently works at HIDROMOD. He has a strong background in physical oceanography and has also extensive experience in IT. João received his degree from University of Aveiro (PT) and completed an Erasmus program at National Oceanography Centre of Southampton (UK). In the last years, is one of the responsible to maintain HIDROMOD’s operational platform working. With 7 years of experience at HIDROMOD, João has demonstrated his dedication and expertise in the field.

Carolina Sá, Earth Observation Officer, Portuguese Space Agency

Carolina is responsible for the Earth Observation projects at the Portuguese Space Agency. Coming from the world of Marine Sciences, she was led into the field of satellite remote sensing by the desire to study microscopic aquatic plants (i.e. phytoplankton) from a different perspective – from Space! She specialized in ocean color remote sensing systems and worked as a researcher for over ten years, focusing on satellite data validation activities to promote and support the Blue Economy. Now her goal is to bridge the gap between Earth Observation research and applications, science and industry, technology and society.

Tiago Sá, Co-Founder & CEO, Wisecrop

Electrical engineer and portuguese social entrepreneur, Tiago Sá is the Co-founder and CEO of Wisecrop, an Agricultural Operating System with the mission of supporting the productivity, sustainability, and efficiency of agricultural management through the use of technology. By managing today more than 60,000 hectares, cultivated with more than 250 different types of crops, Wisecrop wants to become the reference in optimized management solutions for agricultural companies. In 2013, after completing the research scholarship and a semester as an Assistant Professor at University of Porto, he went down the path of entrepreneurship, creating what is now Wisecrop. The company has been highlighted several times since its birth, which resulted in the entry to the list of 30 Social Entrepreneurs under 30 years by the renowned Forbes magazine.

Filipe Neves dos Santos, INESC TEC

Filipe Neves dos Santos is a robotics expert from Portugal, born in 1979. He currently coordinates TEC4AGROFOOD initiative and manages the Laboratory of Robotics and IoT for precision and smart agriculture and forest at INESC TEC. With a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from top universities in Portugal (ISEP-IPP, IST-ULisboa, FEUP). Filipe is passionate about developing autonomous robots and machinery to solve real-world problems in agriculture and forestry. Filipe’s focus is on creating robots that can operate autonomously and safely in steep-slope scenarios, utilizing his expertise in visual perception and navigation. Through his work, Filipe aims to contribute to sustainable farming practices and the efficiency of agricultural operations worldwide.

Carlota Silva, TERINOV

Carlota is responsible for the strategic work planning of TERINOV’s external communications, which includes choosing communication vehicles, writing editorials, and selecting which news to send to the press. Currently, she is attending the Master of International Relations: The Euro-Atlantic Area from the University of Azores. Her interest in social policies and regional dynamics motivated her to pursue this postgraduate degree. Carlota’s experience in international relations for private organizations and the public sector led her to the study of the external relationships of the region and the Portuguese State with European and international institutions.

Helder Silva, Head of Flight Systems, EDISOFT SA

Helder Silva has more than 20 years of experience working with critical software systems for aeronautics and space systems. He led the development of RTEMS Improvement, a real-time operating system for space missions, which is currently flying in several of the European space missions. He has supported several of the current flying missions (Galileo, smallGEO, IXV, Solar Orbiter, ExoMars, MTG, PLATO, etc), including outside Europe missions (KOMPSAT). He has a degree in Aerospace Engineering and the Master (lectures) of Control and Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and an MBA.

Pedro Silva, Chief Technology Officer CTO, EO Lab, AIR Centre

Pedro Freire da Silva (moderator) is the CTO of the AIR Centre’s Earth Observation Laboratory. Has a degree in Aerospace Engineering (Instituto Superior Técnico) and over 20 years of experience in Space Systems, Project and Intellectual Property Management and Technology Transfer, focused on research, industrial, product and service development in various systems. His main interest is to promote new technologies and applications to address societal challenges.

José Silvestre, Researcher, INIAV

José Silvestre holds a PhD in agronomic engineering and is a researcher at INIAV (Pole Dois Portos – National Vitivinicultural Research Station). He has been working in the field of ecophysiology, namely on issues related to abiotic stresses, adaptation to climate change, irrigation management in perennial crops, crop modeling and more recently in the area of Agriculture 4.0. In the latter, he has been working on low-cost IoT sensors, remote sensing and machine learning techniques applied to data processing. He is the focal point of the Agriculture 4.0 flagship initiative, coordinated by INIAV, of the Agriculture Innovation Agenda | 20 | 30 – Terra Futura.

Joana Soares, Executive Secretary for MBON and Project Officer for AIR Centre

Joana Soares has graduated in Aquatic Sciences and holds a PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Porto. She has a solid research background in Ecotoxicology and Endocrine disruption and a strong experience in molecular biology and toxicogenomics. Over the last few years, she has worked as a researcher in several international research projects with multidisciplinary teams. Addressing global changes, in an integrative approach to space, climate, and ocean in the Atlantic, focusing on marine biodiversity conservation, are emergent topics of her work. Currently, she is the Executive Secretary of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) of the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) and a Project Officer at the Earth Observation Laboratory of the Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre).

Flávio Tiago, Regional Director of Science and Technology, Regional Government of Azores

Flávio Tiago is the Regional Director of Science and Technology of the Regional Government of the Azores. He is an accomplished academic and professional with a PhD in Economic and Business Sciences from the University of Azores (UAc), an MBA from the same university, and a degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra. He is a Professor with Aggregation at the University of Azores and Director of the Master’s Degree in Economic and Business Sciences of the Faculty of Economics and Management. He was the founding President of the Board of Administration of NONAGON, the first Science and Technology Park of the Azorean Autonomous Region. He has also held the position of President of the Direction of the Azorean Regional Delegation of the Order of Economists for the 2018-2021 period. In addition to his professional activity, he has also promoted and participated in numerous studies and projects with publications in international scientific journals. He also regularly participates as an mentor, judge, and speaker in events organized by public and private entities around the world.

Maria Teresa Tiago, Professor, University of Azores

Maria Teresa Borges Tiago is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Azores and an Invited Assistant Professor at NOVA IMS, Ph.D. in International Marketing, and has an MSc and MBA from the Portuguese Catholic University. She teaches marketing courses. Her main research interests include Social Media Marketing, Digital Marketing, Tourism, and Consumer Behavior. She has published several articles in international journals such as Business Horizons, Tourism Management, Environmental Research, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, among others.

Carolina Vaza, Associate in the Environment Area, Vieira de Almeida (VdA)

She has been at Vieira de Almeida (VdA) since 2018. She is an Associate in the Environment area where she has worked on various operations. She holds a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon. She has a postgraduate degree in Administrative Litigation from the Institute of Legal and Political Sciences in partnership with the Centre for Public Law Research. She also has a postgraduate degree in Environmental Law from the Institute of Legal and Political Sciences in partnership with the Centre for Public Law Research.

Fábio Vieira, Head of the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, DRCT

Fábio Vieira has a Degree in European Studies from the University of Lisbon, Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of the Azores and is currently enrolled in the Doctoral Program UAc/UÉvora of Political Theory, International Relations and Human Rights. In the private sector, he has been the Executive Director of a Start-Up Consulting Company. In the Public Sector, he worked on the Cabinet of the Vice-Presidency and the Cabinet of the Regional Secretary for Science, Education, and Culture as Political Advisor. He also worked at the Azorean Public Institute for the Modernization of Public Administration and Citizen Support and the Regional Fund for Science and Technology. He is Head of the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation at DRCT and coordinates the Azores S3 Operational Unit.

Filomena Vaz Velho, General Director, National Fisheries and Marine Research Institute of Angola

Filomena holds an MSc in fishery stock assessment from the University of Bergen, Norway, and a Phd, University on Pelagic Fishery behavior from the University of Algarve (Portugal) in 2011. She is the General Director of the National Fisheries and Marine Research Institute, Angola. This position involves the definition of research strategy and creating a mechanism to motivate marine research in Angola. Currently involved in the implementation of FAO EAF- Nansen Programme, being an Angola Nacional co-leader of several Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys carried out in Angola waters, with main scientific interest on
dynamic of small pelagic species. In the last two years was served as chair of Benguela Current Commission Ecosystem Adviser Committee and recently was nominated as Angola Commissioner of the Benguela Current Convention (BCC).

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