Public session on ESO and the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT)
3 June 2013 at the 'Teatro Thalia' (Lisbon)
On the 6th of May, the Ministry of Education and Science has confirmed that Portugal will join the group of participating states contributing to the ESO European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) programme. The E-ELT will be a 39.3-metre segmented-mirror telescope, the largest optical telescope ever built, “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.
This project is considered to be one of the highest priorities in ground-based astronomy in Europe and one of ESO’s main projects for the upcoming decades. It is expected to allow astronomers to make great advances in astrophysical knowledge, through detailed studies of the first objects in the Universe, planets orbiting other stars, supermassive black holes, and the nature and distribution of the dark matter and dark energy that dominate the Universe.
The main objectives of this session were to further promote the visibility and the participation of Portuguese researchers on ESO's scientific programmes, with a particular focus on the E-ELT, as well as exploring the industrial opportunities for Portuguese companies to contribute to the construction and operation of ESO's scientific infrastructures.
Agenda
14:30 - Opening session - Paula Mesquita, FCT Director of International Relations
14:35 - Introduction to ESO and to the E-ELT project - Tim de Zeeuw, ESO Director General [Presentation PDF]
15:00 - Success cases of Portuguese industrial participation at ESO - Patrick Geeraert, ESO Head of Administration [Presentation PDF]
15:15 - Scientific participation in ESO activities
Composition of the discussion panel:
- Teresa Lago, Researcher at CAUP and Portuguese Delegate to ESO Council
- Nuno Santos, Researcher at CAUP
- André Moitinho de Almeida, Researcher at SIM/FCUL and Portuguese Delegate to ESO Scientific and Technical Committee
- José Afonso, Researcher at CAAUL
- Mário João Monteiro, Researcher at CAUP and Portuguese Delegate to ESA Space Science Committee
16:30 - Industrial participation in ESO
Composition of the discussion panel::
- José Oliveira Santos, Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (ISQ), Member of the Administration Board
- Ricardo Patrício, Active Space Technologies, CEO
- Paulo Guedes, Critical Software, Business Development Manager
17:00 - Concluding remarks - Nuno Crato, Minister of Education and Science
17:15 - Networking cocktail