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Meeting: Management Committee Meeting, Core Group Meeting, Working Group Meeting in Lisbon Shaping the Future of Bio-inspired Photonics

COST Working Group meeting, Action CA21159, Understanding interaction light – biological surfaces: possibility for new electronic materials and devices (PhoBioS).

 

Various biological surfaces are known to be covered by elaborated micro- and nano-structures, serving a number of functions (e.g. anti-reflective, structural coloration, anti-fouling, pro- or anti-adhesive, etc.) and inspiring numerous industrial applications. Recent years have witnessed a remarkable boost in research in this field. To a large extent, this boost owes to the increasing interdisciplinary of approaches being applied to the study of structured biosurfaces. Sciences as different as classical zoology and botany are inseminated with the advances in genetics and molecular biology; biologists collaborate more and more with nanotechnologists, materials scientists and engineers – all these contribute to the widening of the horizons of research on micro- and nano-structured biological surfaces, and to biomimetic and bioengineering applications of these surfaces in industry. We aim at ‘riding the wave’ of these developments with our proposal. The main goal of the COST Action “Understanding interaction light – biological surfaces: possibility for new electronic materials and devices” is to bring together scientists coming from distinct disciplines into this vibrant field of research, focusing on the photonic effects of nano-and micro-structuring of biological surfaces and their bionic applications. Our consortium will ensure cross-inspiration among the different participants coming from different research fields and will boost innovation in research and eventual industrial developments.


 

Meeting Programme:

10th–11th February 2026 • NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon

Campus da Caparica, Portugal

10th February 2026 — Shaping the Future of Bio-inspired Photonics
Core Group Meeting

Location: Campus da Caparica, Ágora Room

10:00 – 10:45 Core Group Meeting
10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 – 12:00 Core Group Meeting
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch at C@mpus.come
Management Committee Meeting

Location: Campus da Caparica, Ágora Room

13:30 – 14:15 Arrival of the MC participants and Registration
14:15 – 15:00 Opening Ceremony

  • José Júlio Alferes, Director of the NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal confirmed
  • Ana Isabel Aguiar Ricardo, Head of the Department of Chemistry, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal confirmed
  • Hugo Águas, Head of Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal confirmed
  • Malgorzata Szczerska, PhoBioS Action Chair, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland
  • Ana Almeida, organizer NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal
15:00 – 16:00 MC meeting part 1
Topic: 3rd year and plan for the 4rd year
Malgorzata Szczerska • Dror Fixler • Jelena Radovanovic
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 – 17:15 Visit to the facilities of the NOVA School of Science facilities
17:15 – 18:30 WG Meeting
19:30 – Dinner at Costa da Caparica (to be confirmed)

11th February 2026 (Conference and WG meeting) — Shaping the Future of Bio-inspired Photonics
Location: Campus da Caparica, Ágora Room
08:45 – 09:00 Arrival of participants and Registration
09:00 – 09:30 Opening session

  • Cecília Roque, Vice-Rector for Research and Advanced Training of NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal invited
  • Eurico Cabrita, Vice-Dean for Innovation and Research of NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal invited
  • Rodrigo Martins, Director of i3N, Portugal invited
  • João Carlos Lima, Vice diretor from LAQV-Requimte, Portugal invited
  • Malgorzata Szczerska, PhoBioS Action Chair, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland
  • Ana Almeida, organizer NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal
Session 1 Chairman: Helena Godinho
09:30 – 10:15 Jan Lagerwall, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg confirmed
Topic: to be defined
10:15 – 10:30 Maurizio Dabbico, Universitá Degli Studi Di Bari “Aldo Moro”, Italy confirmed
Topic: to be defined
10:30 – 10:45 Luís Pereira, NOVA School of Science and Technology, I3N – CENIMAT, Portugal confirmed
Topic: to be defined
10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break and Poster session
Session 2 Chairman: Pedro Almeida
11:15 – 12:00 Silvia Vignolini, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom to be invited
Topic: to be defined
12:00 – 12:15 João Avó, LAQV, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal invited
Topic: to be defined
12:15 – 12:30 Maria Helena Godinho, Cenimat, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal confirmed
Topic: ERC Synergy grant Alcemist project
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break at C@mpus.come
Young Researcher Session Chair: Ana Almeida
14:00 – 14:45 Michel Mitov, CNRS at Institut de Physique de Nice, France to be invited
Topic: to be defined
14:45 – 15:00 to be submitted
15:00 – 15:15 to be submitted
15:15 – 15:30 to be submitted
15:30 – 15:45 to be submitted
15:45 – 16:15 Coffee break and Poster session
16:15 – 16:30 to be submitted
16:30 – 16:45 to be submitted
16:45 – 17:00 to be submitted
17:00 – 17:15 to be submitted
17:15 – 17:45 Closing and awards (Best Young Researcher presentation and Best Poster)
Malgorzata Szczerska • Vladimir Katanaev • Pedro Marques de Almeida • Ana Almeida
17:45 – 19:00 WG Meeting

Oral and Poster Presentation Submission: https://forms.gle/9rnVCaF8auoMcEMC8

Lunch reservations: https://forms.gle/zaPLiykuVCDSUgj38

Conference Host


Ana Almeida, Researcher
Chemistry Department

https://laqv.requimte.pt/people/3153-ana_patricia_correia_almeida

https://www.cenimat.fct.unl.pt/people/ana-patricia-correia-almeida

Adress:
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Coordinates: Lat: 38.661150 | Lon: -9.205777


Venue & Travel

From Lisbon International Airport there is the option of taking a taxi, a bus or the subway to reach the city centre (15 minutes). The Caparica Campus is well served by the public transportation network, which includes a combination of bus, train, ferry, and light rail services (with the terminal station “Universidade” located next to one of the entrances to NOVA FCT).

 

Public transport schedules and routes:

Metro – MTS

Train – FertagusCP

Bus- Carris MetropolitanaCarris

Boat- Transtejo

 

Campus map https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1fjCnbXjrmiYLdm1IfH2YyoFRVzzwk-8&femb=1&ll=38.66141065670171%2C-9.205463249999992&z=16

 

About Lisbon

Lisbon is Portugal’s capital and its largest city, it is also referred to as the “city of the seven hills”  known for its excellent cuisine, for its ancient and picturesque corners that contrast between modern and cosmopolitan areas.

For more information about Lisbon, you can visit Lisbon Tourism website.


Terreiro do Paço seen from Tagus river (©Mimofinger Photography)

Torre de Belém and Cristo Rei seen from Lisbon (©Mimofinger Photography).


We will work to develop an unforgettable scientific program with a unique environment, and exquisite opportunity to meet colleagues from all over the world.

A picture is worth a thousand words so, for now please watch the video:

https://youtu.be/51vhPespvMk

 

Accommodation

Lisbon is Portugal’s capital city and one of the most popular touristic destinations in Europe. The Lisbon region has over 50.000 hotel rooms available. There is a wide variety of choices ranging from three-star hotels to five-star hotels. The city has a public transportation system with Bus and subway (Metro) that can be used by attendees staying in Lisbon. In the outskirts of the Conference site, there are several 4- and 3-star hotels, namely in Costa da Caparica, a beautiful beach, 3 km away from the Nova School of Science and Technology. 

There is a special price in the Hotel Mercure Lisboa Almada (Rua Abel Salazar, 9 – Pragal 2805-313 Almada – Portugal). The hotel is near a tram line that connects the hotel directly to the university. For more information, please see the attached document. 

Other hotel options close by to the Campus are TRYP Lisboa Caparica Mar: Email: res.tlc@trypportugal.com, Avenida General Humberto Delgado, 47 2829-506 Costa da Caparica Lisboa, Portugal. For more info visit: https://www.tryplisboacaparica.com/ and Crowne Plaza by IHG: Email: info@cpcaparicalisbon.com, Largo Aldeia dos Capuchos Caparica, 2825-017 Portugal.