Doctoral Researcher of Sustainable Energy Systems & Chemical Engineer

ISQ - Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade | Instituto Superior Técnico | CERENA - Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente

I am a R&D Engineer from Portugal currently working on ISQ - Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade. In general, my personal and professional interests include engineering, technological development, applied science and sustainable development.

Since an early age, I have been deeply connected to technology and interested in all aspects connected to computers, machines and industrial innovation. I remember when I was a child that I was fascinated with the progress of technology, when a new console, computer or cell phone was on the market and I started to search about the innovations brought by such new device. I lived my childhood and early adolescence on the 2000's, a decade of great technological changes. It was on the 2000's that the smartphones we know today appeared with the operating systems and general configurations we know appeared. The internet as we know today also emerged in that decade, and the online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter appeared. The changes brought by the 2000's and the gradual acceleration of technological developments influenced both personally and professionally.

Nevertheless, I have been always interested in several scientific fields. I remember when I was a middle school student that I deeply concerned with issues regarding the origin of the Universe and the structure of matter. Since then, I knew I had to find myself a path which conjoined my interest in science and technology.

Back into 2013, I completed high school and entered on University. In my high school years, I deeply thought of my professional career that would define my life as an adult. I came with the conclusion that my scientific interests would converge if I entered in an Engineering degree, and as such IST was my primary choice. The school had great undergraduate Engineering programs, so it was necessary for me to think about my priorities. Finally, I decided that the most indicated degree for me was Chemical Engineering. Initially, I became fascinated because it was an area which universally jointed the scientific fields I foremost liked, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, but nonetheless maintaining a focus on technological aspects such as programming and numerical modelling. Above all, it was an Engineering area with particularly widespread theoretical and practical applications and as such the choice I was making back then would not disable me to work on other areas that I would like to work in the future. Nonetheless, I knew as a Chemical Engineer I would still have to find a specialization area.

As a part of MSc thesis, I enrolled in an internship on ISQ - Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade in early 2018. My work would focus on the Horizon 2020 programme-financed project WaterWatt. The theme of my thesis focused on the use of an open source modelling and simulation tool, effectively met my foremost scientific interests. In addition, as part of the work performed in a European project, my thesis focused on the issue of energy efficiency. As such, my work was a rather both personal and professional achievement, conjoining my scientific interests with current social issues which were of my personal concern such as sustainable development.

After ending my MSc thesis, I had the opportunity to continue to collaborate on the R&Di Department of ISQ. I continue to collaborate on WaterWatt and also started to collaborate on other European projects such as EcoTermIP and TRUST. Although I believe I gave extensive contributions to several projects, WaterWatt is probably the project which I mostly treated as a personal concern beyond my professional responsibilities.

Above all, I felt my collaboration on ISQ as an Engineering Researcher was the beginning of an excellent career as a Chemical Engineer. Nonetheless, my most relevant professional achievement until now was when I was contacted by my supervisors on ISQ to enrol in a PhD program, that would be a collaboration between my work on ISQ and a host University. As such, I went back to my IST, my college of origin which I had the most consideration, and enrolled in the Sustainable Energy Systems PhD program. It was also within my enrollment on this PhD program that I adhered to CERENA - Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente.

In the scope of my PhD, I intend to continue to offer my knowledge on the fields of Engineering and technology on the service of sustainable development and the creation of a more sustainable future. I also intend to inspire society itself and future generations to dedicate their work and the services they may offer to society in favour of sustainability.

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