Science

A political philosopher, he was professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and was a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale. He also taught Political Science in Oxford.
He is the author of several books, including «False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism» and «Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals». More recently, he published «Feline Philosophy» in 2021. He writes regularly for The Guardian and the New York Review of Books.

An astrophysicist, he teaches at Oxford University. Researcher at the University of California (Berkeley) and at CERN (Geneva).
He has written for Nature, Science, Physics World, BBC Focus and The Guardian, as well as other renowned journals.
He has written several books. His latest, «The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity» has been published in over 20 countries.

He has a PhD in Biology from the University of Porto and his main research interests are linked to Evolutionary Biology. Full Professor in the Biology Department of the University of Porto School of Sciences, where he teaches Genetics and Evolution. Director of CIBIO – Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Research Centre and of the Associated Laboratory InBIO – Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Research Network. In recent years, he has established a network of collaborative laboratories in several African countries, called TwinLabs, whose strategic objectives are scientific and technological training, advanced human resources training and knowledge transfer. In 2017, UNESCO awarded the Life on Land Chair to the University of Porto, with the aim of promoting and coordinating this network of TwinLabs, with Nuno Ferrand holding the Chair. Coordinator of the European project BIOPOLIS, recently approved by the European Commission, which results in the mobilisation of the largest amount of funding ever awarded to a research centre in Portugal. Director of the Museum of Science and Natural History at the University of Porto where, in partnership with the Portuguese Science Promotion Agency Ciência Viva, he created the Biodiversity Gallery.

Associate professor at the University of the Algarve and member of the board of the Algarve Marine Science Centre (CCMAR). She coordinates a scientific team at CCMAR that studies patterns and processes that determine the genetic diversity, ecology and evolution of marine populations at global biogeographic scales. Her research includes environmental and functional genomics in response to environmental and climate change, and diverse marine systems, from microorganisms to giant kelp forests. She has more than 200 indexed scientific publications, coordinates national, European and international projects and was named a "Pew Marine Fellow" by the Pew Foundation in the USA for her work in marine conservation. She is a member of the coordination committee for two Master’s degrees and two PhD course and has supervised 16 PhD students and 36 Master’s theses.

Last updated: November 2017

PhD in Computer Science from the University of Manchester, UK (1983). Since 2012, he has been a Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science (DCC) at the University of Porto School of Sciences (FCUP). He was Vice-Rector of the University of Porto with responsibility for the Digital University, Quality and Continuous Improvement. In 2007, he founded and led CRACS, an FCT unit rated Very Good, until 2018, becoming an integrated unit of INESC TEC in 2014. He has led the Authenticus project since 2010.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Porto School of Sciences. As science communication and dissemination is one of her main interests, she has been working on a number of projects in this area since 2008, at institutions such as the University of Porto, the Porto Social Foundation, CIBIO-InBIO and, currently, at the University of Porto Museum of Natural History and Science.