The Técnico professor Pedro Abreu (Department of Physics), won the Ciência Viva Award, in the “Education” category for his commitment to teaching and disseminating Physics in Portugal, both among students and secondary school teachers.

The Técnico professor was also responsible for implementing the “Physics Masterclasses” project in secondary schools across the country, bringing scientists together with aspiring university students. He has also been involved in the CERN Portuguese Language Teacher Programme, an accredited training course for teachers to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in particle physics.

The “Physics Masterclasses” project results from a partnership between LIP – Laboratory for Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics and Instituto Superior Técnico, Faculty of Sciences – Universidade de Lisboa, Faculty of Sciences and Technology – University of Coimbra, University of Algarve, University of Beira Interior, Faculty of Sciences – University of Porto, University of Minho, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, University of Aveiro, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Polytechnic Institute of Beja, University of the Azores, University of Évora and the Polytechnic Institute of University of São Tomé and Príncipe. The aim of this project is to provide an opportunity for 15- to 18-year-old students to discover particle physics.

Pedro Abreu was also responsible for the organisation of the 2018 International Physics Olympiad, held in Lisbon, which brought together hundreds of secondary school students at international level.

The Técnico professor was one of the participants in the series of talks “Explain it like I’m 5”, where he spoke about “Does the Universe have an end?”.