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
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 |
Location: Campus da Caparica, Ágora Room
| 13:30 – 14:15 | Arrival of the MC participants and Registration |
| 14:15 – 15:00 |
Opening Ceremony
|
| 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) |
| 08:45 – 09:00 | Arrival of participants and Registration |
| 09:00 – 09:30 |
Opening session
|
| 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
Pedro Marques de Almeida, Researcher
Cenimat, Professor
ISEL
https://www.isel.pt/docentes/pedro-lucio-maia-marques-almeida
https://www.cenimat.fct.unl.pt/people/pedro-marques-de-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
Bus- Carris Metropolitana, Carris
Boat- Transtejo
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:
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.