Science

Senior Fellow at Harvard University and Former Assistant Director for Space Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
In almost 20 years of U.S. government service, Dr. Uzo-Okoro has developed several national space policies and contributed to over 60 NASA missions and programs – as an engineer, technical expert, manager, and executive – in space science and technology topics.
At the White House, she led the space, aeronautics, and manufacturing portfolios, and has released space policy on Earth Observations, Orbital Debris, LEO including Microgravity research, Space Weather, In-space Servicing Assembly and Manufacturing, Aeronautics, human exploration, and space science.
She has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and three masters degrees in Space Systems, Space Robotics, and Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University (APL), MIT (the Media Lab), and Harvard University, respectively. She earned her doctorate degree in Aerospace Engineering from MIT.
Her story is profiled in President George W. Bush’s book, «Out of Many, One».

Last update: january 2025

Andrew Hessel is a distinguished figure in the realm of genomics and synthetic biology, making transformative strides in advancing human and animal health through cutting-edge innovations.
He is a co-founder of Humane Genomics, an early-stage venture committed to the development of synthetic viruses with profound implications for health and wellbeing. Andrew is the Co-founder and Chairman of the Center of Excellence for Engineering Biology, a pioneering institution that catalyzes breakthroughs in the manipulation of biological systems.

Last update: december 2024
Andrew's influence extends to the Genome Project-write, an international scientific initiative that aims to engineer complete genomes, including the human genome.

He is a guest writer for the American magazine «The New Republic» and author of the books «The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom» and «To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism». From 2010 to 2012, he was Visiting Professor at Stanford University and a Fellow in the Bernard L. Schwartz programme at the New America Foundation. From 2009 to 2010, he was a Fellow at Georgetown University and a Fellow at the Open Society Foundations (OSF) from 2008 to 2009, where he also served on the board of the Information Programme from 2008 to 2012. Between 2006 and 2008, he was the New Media Director at the «Transitions Online» newspaper. Morozov has contributed articles to a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, London Review of Books and The Times Literary Supplement. His monthly column for Slate magazine is syndicated in various newspapers, such as El Pais, Corriere della Sera, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Folha de S.Paulo.

Last updated: June 2015

Scientist, best-selling author, speaker and consultant on new perspectives on technology and the future. He is the author of the novel «The Postman» (filmed in 1997 in Portugal as "The Postman: O Mensageiro») and the author of the Hugo Award-winning novels «Startide Rising and The Uplift War», as well as many others. He is a leading commentator and speaker on contemporary trends and his non-fiction book «The Transparent Society» was awarded the Freedom of Speech Award by the American Library Association. His latest novel, «Existence» explores a big question: there are billions of planets capable of supporting life. So where is everyone? The book is a reflection on questions such as: how will we build the days and years to come – and how will we be shaped by the future?


Last updated: June 2015

She is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Genspace, a non-profit community laboratory dedicated to promoting science and access to biotechnology for the public. Her efforts to make Genspace a centre for entrepreneurship, innovation and citizen science have been documented by the media in publications such as Nature Medicine, Science, Discover Magazine, Wired, Make, BBC News, Dan Rather Reports, PBS News Hour, The Discovery Channel and The New York Times. She holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from New York University, worked for several years in the biotechnology industry and is currently Adjunct Professor at New York Medical College, Scientist-in-Residence at the School of Visual Arts, and Visiting Professor at The Cooper Union. She frequently mentors teams participating in DNA-based scientific competitions, such as iGEM and the Urban Barcode Project.

Last updated: June 2015

Full Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST).
His primary focus is engineering sciences and technologies, with a particular interest in computer engineering, especially robotics and artificial intelligence.
He has published over 200 articles in journals, book chapters and scientific conferences. He is co-author of two books. He has received seven awards and honourable mentions.
He completed his Bachelor's and pre-Bologna Master's Degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering at IST. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA.

Geneticista e investigador na University College London (UCL) é também apresentador de programas de rádio e televisão e autor de vários livros sobre ciência, religião e cinema. No Institute of Child Health da UCL, integrou um projeto de investigação sobre o papel da retina na identificação da base genética de um tipo de cegueira, tendo-se doutorado com uma tese nessa área. Para a BBC, concebeu e apresentou programas como «The Cell on the History of Biology», «Playing God», «The Gene Code» e «Science Betrayed», entre muitos outros. Em «Creation: The Origin of Life & The Future of Life», obra nomeada para o Wellcome Trust Book Prize, defende a teoria de que a vida poderá não ter surgido no «caldo primordial» e debruça-se sobre questões ligadas à biologia sintética, isto é, à modificação dos genes por ação humana e à criação de novos organismos para fins terapêuticos ou industriais. Mais recentemente, publicou «A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes» e «The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us».

Última atualização: novembro de 2019

A specialist in planetary astronomy, she is Researcher at the Colorado Space Science Institute and a renowned interpreter of NASA space mission photographs. She received her PhD from the Department of Planetary and Geological Sciences at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). She was part of the team responsible for analysing the thousands of photographs and data sent by the Voyager II mission to the planet Uranus (1986) and Neptune (1989). She directed the imaging team of the Cassini-Huygens probe and the Central Imaging Laboratory of the Colorado Space Science Institute, as well as Diamond Sky Productions, a company dedicated to disseminating science and the artistic, graphic and computer processing of planetary images. She collaborates with publications such as The Guardian, American Scientist and The London Sunday Times. She was awarded the Isaac Asimov Prize and the Carl Sagan Medal. In 1998, Asteroid 7231 was renamed «Asteroid 7231 Porco» in her honour.

Born in Verona, Italy, in 1956, Carlo Rovelli decided to specialise in theoretical physics, having studied at the Universities of Bologna and Padova. He worked at the University of Pittsburgh and is currently at the University of Aix-Marseille, France, where he heads the Quantum Gravity group at the Luminy Centre for Theoretical Physics. Rovelli was one of the founders of the loop theory of quantum gravity, today one of the most likely candidates for merging quantum theory with Einstein's theory of general relativity. He has contributed to the history and philosophy of science, notably through the publication of a book on the Greek philosopher Anaximander and an important re-evaluation of Aristotle's physics. The author of various books acclaimed by the general public and critics alike, one of his most successful was «Seven Brief Lessons in Physics», which has been translated into 41 languages and sold over 1.2 million copies. More recently, he published «The Order of Time. Foreign Policy» magazine considered him one of the hundred most influential «Global Thinkers».

Last updated: November 2019