|
The MIT Portugal Program has partnered with industry, academia and government entities to launch three research and training networks that will link key Program efforts already underway with ongoing initiatives in Portugal – and will help to advance new knowledge, and the application of that knowledge, in sustainable energy systems and electric mobility, the greening of cities, and stem cell engineering.
High-level speakers gathered in Lisbon – at City Hall, the Instituto Superior Técnico, and the Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO) – to explain the goals of the three new networks and the international nature of the partnerships they involve, during forums held on November 24 and 26, 2009. Among the participants were Portugal’s ministers for health, economy, and science, technology and higher education; municipal leaders from Lisbon and Porto; cancer and stem cell scientists; industry and university officials; MIT Portugal faculty and students; and MIT officials, including MIT President Susan Hockfield and Prof. Ernest Moniz, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). Portugal is a Sustaining Public Member of MITEI, which is a partner in two of the networks.
The three initiatives are as follows:
The Sustainable Cities Forum and Research Network
The Sustainable Cities Forum and Research Network – an international policy research network launched by MIT Portugal and the MIT Energy Initiative – brings together city councils and experts from around the world to make use of emerging urban metabolism studies and related knowledge. Participants will benchmark sustainability across several world cities to help city planners and policymakers design, test and implement new policies involving the greening of cities; also, to disseminate new knowledge and inspire greater engagement with and understanding of sustainability issues.
The network, which aims to attract students and researchers worldwide, is building its research on work currently in progress in seven cities: Boston, Lima, Lisbon, Mexico City, Porto, San Francisco and Singapore.
 Eduardo Oliveira Fernandes, Director of Porto's Energy Agency, and Fernando Nunes da Silva, Lisbon’s Deputy Mayor for Urban Mobility The event at Lisbon’s City Hall – which was introduced by Dr. Manuel Salgado, Vice-Mayor of Lisbon, and by Manuel Heitor, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education – included a summary of the initiative by Prof. Paulo Ferrão (IST; MIT Portugal National Director) and MIT Prof. John Fernández. It also featured a roundtable chaired by Fernando Nunes da Silva, Lisbon’s Deputy Mayor for Urban Mobility. On the panel were Ernest Moniz (MIT Energy Initiative), Eduardo Oliveira Fernandes (MIT Portugal and Porto Energy Agency), José Viegas (MIT Portugal; IST), and J. Delgado Domingos (Lisboa E-Nova).
In her comments to the assembled group, MIT’s President Susan Hockfield said, “Developing innovative, sustainable urban solutions also requires global partners who are creative, committed and eager to work across every sector – bringing together the different perspectives and different strengths from government, the academy, and industry. We are fortunate to have found such allies here in Portugal.”
The E2 Research Net
Key aims of the Sustainable Energy Systems and Electric Mobility Research Platform and Network – or the E2 Research Net – are to foster new knowledge on emerging energy systems, namely those that integrate forms of electric mobility, smart energy grids and renewable sources of energy generation, and to use this knowledge to solve local sustainability issues. Also, to help make Portugal a recognized center of international research and training on energy systems and electric mobility.
One of the partners in the new effort – the MIT Energy Initiative, a major effort by MIT to improve the world’s energy systems through innovation – was represented by its director, MIT Prof. Ernest Moniz, a former U.S. Undersecretary of Energy.
 The launch of the E2 Energy Network, at IST's Campus Alameda Prof. Moniz’s remarks were followed by a roundtable discussion featuring António Mexia (CEO of EDP), Manuel Ferreira de Oliviera (CEO of GALP), António Pontes (Martifer), Luís Reis (MOBI-E), and António Sa da Costa, Centro de Energia (Badajoz) e APREN – and by comments from MIT President Susan Hockfield; Manuel Heitor, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education; and Carlos Zorrinho, Secretary for Energy and Innovation (who called the partnership between MIT and Portugal a “win-win” arrangement).
President Hockfield said she is convinced that advances in solving the global energy program “are almost within reach. All that’s needed is research, creativity and systems thinking – and I know we have come to the right place to accelerate that vital work, as we enter the second phase of the MIT Portugal Program.” Noting that the general public in the United States “does not have a deep appreciation for or understanding of science and technology,” she added, “I hope we can learn from [Portugal’s] example in building such broad public support” in this area.
Stem Cell Engineering and Research Network
The network announced at the Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO) – Stem Cell Engineering and Clinical Research net, or StemCellnet – is an international, multi-institutional effort to develop research and training in Portugal in stem cells, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
 A panel at the StemCellnet launch in Lisbon One goal of StemCellnet is to develop stem cell-based cellular therapies for the treatment of cancer and hematological disorders, as well as autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases and genetic disorders, for clinical implementation in hospitals. Another is to contribute to the development of a new generation of biotech companies aimed at promoting the wellbeing of aging populations.
In addition to Professor Joaquim Cabral, co-leader of MIT Portugal’s initiative on Stem Cell Engineering for Regenerative Medicine, the event’s speakers included Drs. Manuel Abecassis and Nuno Miranda of IPO; Prof. Lino Ferreira (MIT Portugal, CNC, University of Coimbra and Biocant); Manuel Gomes (University of Minho); and Raquel Almeida (University of Porto).
MIT President Hockfield, whose research field is neurobiology, spoke at this forum as well, emphasizing the importance of efforts such as this one that involve “the great convergence of the life sciences with engineering and the physical sciences.”
 Prof. Lino Ferreira (MIT Portugal, CNC) and MIT President Susan Hockfield As the scientific problems we tackle “grow more and more complex,” she said, “we must all grow more adept at working in flexible teams – across the boundaries of our disciplines, between institutions, and around the world. StemCellnet will be an important tool for creating such wide-ranging scholarly connections.”
Photos: Inês Santos |
