Carlos Santos is one of the founders of NUCLIO and a certified teacher trainer.
He has been fascinated by science and the Universe since his childhood. He has a MSc in Astrophysics and studied the interstellar medium and star formation. He is also a specialist in Information Technologies and is responsible for the maintenance of NUCLIO websites. He loves to observe the sky and you will often find him randomly looking at the stars, making silent but complex scientific arguments! He handles telescopes with ease and owns an infinite patience to answer any questions about science and astronomy.

Priscila is a certified trainer, with a MSc degree in Biology and a post-graduation in Psychology of Education. She is fascinated by the behaviour of living creatures, especially humans. She is the educational psychology consultant at NUCLIO and coordinates the Maker Space “Change Makers”. She believes that education is a fundamental pillar for the future and dreams of a positive and inclusive education in which every human being finds the necessary ingredients to grow. She loves all forms of art, coordinating interdisciplinary projects where art connects to science, believes in a fair and equitable pedagogical assessment, and collaborates in the creative design of NUCLIO’s dissemination material.

Ana Costa is a key element in any event organised by NUCLIO. Whether it is a teacher training course or a big festival, she communicates with every single participant and makes all the necessary arrangements. It is no surprise that in any given event she is the one person everybody knows and everybody compliments. Ana coordinates the asteroid campaigns of the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) for NUCLIO. She is also a retired Physics and Chemistry teacher, and she has two degrees, one in Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and the other in Chemistry Education.

Gustavo is a Science Teaching expert and also a great astronomy communicator, having actively participated in science outreach actions, as a presenter and consultant for scientific shows and events. He is part of the organising committee of the Olympiads of Astronomy in Portugal, and was the Brazilian representative for the network of science outreach of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). He has a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a MSc and a PhD in Astronomy. He believes that astronomy plays a fundamental role for humanity, both at intellectual and emotional levels. After all, realising how small we are in the cosmic perspective does leave a mark on us!

Leonor is one of the most creative members of NUCLIO and she has many great ideas for the teaching of science. She has a bachelor’s in Physics and a MSc in Astronomy teaching, and she is a trainer and an outreach expert at NUCLIO. She is also a retired teacher of Physics and Chemistry. A few years back, you could enter her class and see an enormous shape representing just one bit of the Sun and all the planets in its orbit in their real scale. And this is just one small sample of all the amazing things she can create!

José Saraiva has a bachelor’s degree in Geology and a MSc in Geo-resources. He’s our expert in Martian geology, and he is always up to date with the latest news from Mars. He has been the source of many of the great articles at Portal do Astrónomo and he always has ideas for new texts, as well as for lectures and exhibitions. He also translates fiction, and he loves books, cinema and listening to music. He is always in a good mood and has a keen critical thinking and lots of imagination. He dreams of meteorites and craters, but when he is awake, he aims to contribute with his work and ideas to a more conscious and informed society through education.

Álvaro is passionate about astronomy and an excellent communicator. He is a Physics teacher, the coordinator of a science club and a pioneer in innovative education. He has a MSc in Physics Teaching and is currently working on a PhD in Educational Sciences. Álvaro combines science and music by composing songs on school subjects as a way of capturing students’ attention and increasing their knowledge retention. He has also done an excellent job in creating videos and other teaching and dissemination material. His dream is to see a world where new generations are drawn to science, to form an informed society with humanitarian values and respect for the planet. He believes that astronomy may be a key part of this, awakening in us a sense of wonder for the Universe surrounding us.

Lúcia collaborates with NUCLIO and has an extremely important role in content management. She is our key translator, helping to develop educational resources for almost all our projects. She is also helping to create the NUCLIO resource repository, which will be ready soon. Lúcia dreams of an informed and educated 21st century, working in all possible levels to support NUCLIO’s mission: a world without boundaries or limits to education and where science literacy and critical thinking are part of human life.

Nelson is a content developer at NUCLIO and the coordinator of the Dark Skies Rangers project, that aims to raise awareness about light pollution among the educational community and local communities. He is also a Physics and Chemistry teacher and a teacher trainer in the fields of physics, chemistry, and innovation in education. In his school he also coordinates the Eco-Schools, Erasmus+ and LabMaker projects. Nelson has a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a MSc in Sanitary Engineering. He loves astronomy and watching the night sky, but he is also a man of many passions. You can spend hours talking to him about science, music, travelling and many other interesting themes!

Joana holds a PhD in History of Sciences and Scientific Education from the Univ. of Coimbra, a master’s degree in Educational Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the Univ. of Évora. She is a mathematics teacher, a researcher at the Center for Research in Education and Psychology of the Univ. of Évora (CIEP-UE) and a certified trainer. Her extensive experience in educational innovation and science communication projects in Portugal, Guinea-Bissau, and S. Tomé and Príncipe woke her up to the social and cultural perspectives of mathematics, which she brings into the classroom at various levels of education. At NUCLIO, besides being a project coordinator, she develops educational resources that blend science and culture. She coordinates PLOAD and represents us at the Sundy Science Space Association, having been at the birth of the first dedicated non-formal science education facility on Príncipe.

Vinicius has a PhD in Physics in the area of Astronomy and Astrophysics, with extensive teaching experience in Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics from secondary school to master’s degree. He also has observational experience, both in spectroscopy and photometry, in several professional astronomical observatories, in addition to science communication observations. Vinicius hosts a scientific debate podcast and is a member of NUCLIO, working in several projects, highlighting PLOAD and Change Makers. He is also an active member of the IAU, participating in education and scientific dissemination committees. In his personal and professional experience, Vinicius realised that education is the strongest basis for personal and society development.

Joana started out as our intern and is now communication coordinator at NUCLIO. She is responsible for creating the communication material, also collaborating on its design, as well as the dissemination plans of some projects, the design of newsletters, and the social media content. She also collaborates in translating content into English. Joana is a biologist with an MSc in Ecology, focusing mainly on pollution and marine environments. She is currently finishing a second master’s degree in Science Communication and is part of several science communication initiatives, such as Pint of Science. Despite her scientific roots, she is also interested in art, especially design and photography.

Juliana is a publicist and is doing a postgraduate degree in Project Management. She makes an effort to give visibility to scientists and relevant projects by connecting them to companies and events. Thus, she has been working on public relations for NUCLIO, trying to engage big companies with our projects and activities. Juliana is a visionary and her head is full of fantastic ideas. She dreams of traveling the world and has the purpose of making a link between society and science so that every single human can have access to it.