Iran Rocha Segundo is a young researcher at the Center of Physics, University of Minho, Portugal. He stands at the forefront of integrating multidisciplinary approaches into the field of Civil Engineering. With a foundational education of a Bachelor’s degree from the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil, and advanced degrees (Master’s and Ph.D.) from the University of Minho, Portugal. His work, primarily focused on the
functionalization of construction materials, bridges the gap between traditional civil engineering practices and innovative solutions in materials science, chemistry, and physics by incorporating nano/microparticles and polymeric materials, such as phase change materials. Iran Rocha Segundo is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project NanoSensorRoads, which aims to develop nanosensors to alert users to iced roads based on smart thermochromic and self-cleaning materials (funded by FCT) and co-PI of the Technical Collaboration Projects and Scientific Knowledge in the Field of Air Quality: University of Minho and the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission.
Elisabete Freitas holds a BSc and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minho and has been a Researcher and Associate Professor in the Civil Engineering Department of that university since 1998. She has been involved in several funded research projects, as a principal researcher, and as a member, dealing with road safety, tire–road noise perception and modeling, road pavement surface characteristics, and photocatalytic road surfaces and consultancy services. She is an expert member of the Working Group CEN/TC 227/WG 5 and coordinator of the mirror Sub-Committee: Paving Materials—Surface Characteristics. Furthermore, she participated in the organization of several conferences and is the author of about 100 papers in international and national journals and conferences.
Manuel F. M. Costa holds a Ph.D. Degree in Science (Physics) from the University of Minho (Portugal) where he has been working since 1985 in the Physics Department, teaching and performing applied research in optical metrology, image processing, thin film nanostructures and applications, optometric instrumentation and optometry, and science education and literacy. He was president of the Ibero-American Optics Network, RIAO for the term 2019–2022. He is the president of the Hands-on Science Network, HSCI, and Deputy Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Optical Society. He is an executive committee member and Europe’s regional representative of the International Council of Associations for Science Education, ICASE. He is the president of the Portuguese Society for Optics and Photonics, SPOF, and a fellow of the European Optical Society.
Joaquim Carneiro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal, and holds a master’s degree and a degree in Physics and Chemistry from the University of Minho (UMinho), Portugal. Joaquim Carneiro served as the head of the Functional Coatings Group in the Physics Centre at UMinho, where he developed his research activity in the field of nanotechnology, surface engineering, nanostructured materials, functional coatings, photocatalytic materials, and novel materials applied to civil construction. Carneiro also served as the Head of the Department for Research Policy and Post-graduation at ISPTEC/SONANGOL National Fuel Society of Angola, Luanda/Angola. Since May 2013, he has also been a visiting professor at the Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, China. He also served as scientific advisor to the Angolan Vice Minister of Petroleum on new materials applied to the energy and oil industry. He was the chairman of the board of
directors of Joic Construction S.A., Complementary Grouping of Companies, headquartered in Paris, France (2010). He is a member of the editorial board of several journals. Regularly, he is invited to serve as an expert evaluator for the Eureka Project (European Commission) and the Portuguese Foundation for
Science and Technology (FCT).