Vitor Cardoso, a full professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, was elected a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters for his contributions to science and impactful work. The professor, who specialises in gravitation within the field of physics, was one of the 30 new members who officially joined the academy on 9 June.
The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters was established in 1742 and serves as a forum for cooperation and exchange among leading scientists from various fields of scientific research. “It is an honour to have been elected a member. But for someone like me, who has only recently joined the Danish scientific community, it means something more: it is a warm welcome and an invitation to contribute to the country’s future as well”, says Vítor Cardoso.
The Academy’s core activities consist of organising the biweekly meetings for the academy’s members, publishing scientific works, coordinating and conducting events and lectures of a scientific character, as well as participating in international cooperation with other scientific academies and with scientific organisations. “The Academy has working groups that produce visions and strategy documents, which are central to the way the community operates”, he explains. As a member, Vítor Cardoso hopes to “play an active role in these working groups”, contributing to society by improving what can be improved and preserving what works well.
“Physics in Denmark is exceptionally strong, given its tradition of great physicists and scientists”, he says. In his view, this new position will help ensure that physics remains a “cutting-edge field”. He believes the “new frontier of knowledge” lies in space physics and emphasises: “We need to know more, and we will know more if we continue to work, invest and think”.
On joining an institution that has brought together scientists such as Ørsted, Niels Bohr, Charles Darwin, Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Albert Einstein, Vítor Cardoso states that “being part of this Academy is truly a privilege and an honour”.
Vítor Cardoso won the ULisboa Award 2023 for “his extraordinary contribution to the development of theoretical physics and the progress of science at a global level.” Previously, in 2022, he received a €2 million grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to study black holes, about a year after receiving another €5.3 million grant from the Villum Foundation to create and lead the research group he is part of at the Niels Bohr Institute. In 2025, he was elected president of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation.
