The Fidelidade Impact Center for Climate Change (ICCC), within the scope of the 2nd edition of the climate change research fellowship program, has awarded five research fellowships to master’s students. The initiative aims to support research projects that deepen scientific knowledge about the climate impacts in Portugal, contributing to the development of innovative adaptation and risk mitigation responses, as announced in a press release.
According to the same source, the fellowships awarded to the five young researchers support scientific projects devoted to water management, forest monitoring, plant resilience to drought and heat, and the study of extreme precipitation. The diversity of topics addressed reflects the program’s multidisciplinary approach and the scientific contributions it aims to gather.
The fellowships were awarded to:
André dos Santos Viegas Pereira (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto), with the project “Self-Powered TinyML Node for Smart Water Leak Detection.”
Hannah Nathanson (Green Data Science, Instituto Superior de Agronomia), with the project “Deep Learning Based Estimation of Post‑Disaster Treefall in Portuguese Forests Using UAS Imagery and LiDAR Data.”
Mariana Ribeiro Lebre (Biodiversity and Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra), with the project “μGRÃO – Bioinoculation with seed endophytic microorganisms as a strategy to increase chickpea resilience to drought and heat.”
Pedro Moura de Oliveira e Silva (Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto), with the project “AdAPtation – The role of aspartic proteases in reproductive adaptation to thermal stress.”
Tomás Pires Ribeiro (Geophysical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto) with the project “Trends in Extreme Precipitation in Mainland Portugal: Contributions of Atmospheric Rivers and Regional Warming.”
“With the awarding of these fellowships, we want to give young researchers the opportunity to develop knowledge that helps Portugal prepare for the impacts of climate change. The diversity of the selected projects demonstrates the importance of crossing different scientific areas to understand the risks and find adaptation responses. This second edition reinforces our commitment to education and to the scientific community, bringing research closer to the concrete challenges of society,” stated Rui Esteves, co-coordinator of the Fidelidade Impact Center for Climate Change.
With this second edition, the program totals ten research fellowships awarded, reinforcing the ICCC and Fidelidade’s commitment to supporting young researchers in deepening their academic work on topics central to the future of the planet.
