07-10-2024

On October 4th, as part of the celebrations of the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation (FGF), the UAc Scientific Merit Award took place at Amphitheater VIII of the University of the Azores (UAc).

The UAc Scientific Merit Award - 2024 is awarded by the FGF and Caixa de Crédito Agrícola (CCA) , and the article Toward a near real-time magma ascent monitoring by combined fluid inclusion barometry and ongoing seismicity by Vittorio Zanon, Luca D'Auria, was distinguished by the jury. Federica Schiavi, Klaudia Cyrzan and Matthew J. Pankhurst, as the best work published by UAc in the last six years in the area of ​​Natural and Exact Sciences

This ceremony was attended by the Rector of the UAc, Susana Mira Leal, the president of the FGF Board of Directors, José Noronha Rodrigues and the administrator of the CCA, Ana Cordeiro.

José Noronha Rodrigues also highlighted the reinforcement of this protocol, with an increase in the monetary value to €5,000 having been agreed with Caixa de Crédito Agricola. He also announced the holding of the 2nd edition of this award in 2025, with emphasis on the area of ​​Engineering Sciences and Technologies. Applications for the UAc Scientific Merit Award - 2025 will take place from January 6th to 18th, 2025.

 28-09-2024

The Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation (FGF) participated for the third consecutive year in the MacaroNight 2024 initiative – European Night of Researchers, which this year had the theme “Science for global challenges”.
The FGF at this event with three activities: The “Artistic Herbarium”, in which the imagination of young people was appealed to in planning a herbarium, the activity “Fossilizes Gaspar’s plants” which consisted of tracing leaves and small branches of native plants dos Açores about modeling paste and the activity “From the Magnifying Glass to the Leaf!” in which children, young people and adults were invited to visualize, through a magnifying glass, various details of leaves, fruits and seeds of plants native to the Azores. In this last activity, we had the help of two researchers from CIBIO-Açores, Martín Souto and Félix Pina Castillo, two interns, under the Eurodysseia program, also associated with this Research Center, Noelia Valero and Marta Serrano and also a student from the 2nd year of the Degree in Biology (University of the Azores), Alexandre Pereira.

On the 25th and 26th of September, 1026 students, from primary to secondary education, were at the Pavilhão do Mar, as well as 75 teachers who accompanied them. At the European Researchers' Night, on September 27th, 1585 children, young people and adults participated in this initiative, with, according to the organization, a record number of participants in this initiative.

 16-09-2024

The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, accompanied by the Consul of the United States of America in the Azores, Margaret C. Campbell, visited the “European North Atlantic – Atmospheric Radiation Measurement” ENA station on September 12th. -ARM, located on Graciosa island.

"This installation is a prestige for the island of Graciosa, for the Azores and for the world, in terms of important scientific knowledge for an increasingly deeper understanding of the atmospheric column", highlighted José Manuel Boleiro.

And he added: "we are making a contribution to atmospheric knowledge and knowledge of the effects of climate change."

ENA-ARM is an international platform for advanced climate studies in the Atlantic, aimed at understanding ocean/atmosphere interactions, in particular the study of the microphysical mechanisms of the formation and influence of marine clouds on the current climate, as well as, with special relevance, its influence on the future climate.

The station develops studies to improve global climate models and stands out for the "innovative nature" of the technologies and instruments that equip the infrastructure, allowing the testing of pioneering equipment for studying new atmospheric models, corresponding to the most recent technology at the service of atmospheric and climate sciences and an effective data calibration and validation structure that is available to the international scientific community.

This project is the result of an international program promoted by the United States Department of Energy, through the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and has the support of the Government of the Azores, in a strategic infrastructure with more than 10 years of continuous operation, on the island Graceful.

The official also recalled that this is an infrastructure that has the capacity to "promote the scientific and technological capacity installed in the Azores" in these areas, which give the Region, from a geostrategic point of view, a national, European and global distinction.

Margaret C. Campbell highlighted this partnership, between the United States of America, the Government of the Azores and the University of the Azores, as being "important and representative" of the collaboration between the American government and the Portuguese government, through the Azores, in several areas, especially in the technological and scientific area.

The visit was also attended by the Mayor of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, António Manuel Reis, professor and university researcher Brito de Azevedo, and members of the United States of America Department of Energy Juarez Viegas Silva and Heath Powers.

© Government of the Azores | Photos: MM