The Ceremony for the Conferral of the Title of Emeritus Professor upon Amílcar Soares will take place on 19 June 2026, at 17:30, in the Salão Nobre of Instituto Superior Técnico.

Programa

17:30 – Opening of the Ceremony by the President of Instituto Superior Técnico, Professor Rogério Colaço

17:35 – Welcome Address by the Head of the Department of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering (DER), Professor Maria João Pereira

17:40 – Remarks by the President of CERENA, Professor Leonardo Azevedo

17:50 – Conferral of the Title of Emeritus Professor upon Amílcar Soares by the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Professor Luís Ferreira

18:00 – Lecture by Professor Amílcar Soares
“The Meaning of a Journey: A Shared Passion”

18:25 – Closing Remarks by the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Professor Luís Ferreira

18:30 – Musical Performance by the University of Lisbon Chamber Choir

18:45 – Reception

Biography

Amílcar de Oliveira Soares is a Retired Full Professor (Professor Jubilado) at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, and has also served as a Visiting Professor at institutions in the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Brazil.

Over more than four decades of academic career, he established himself as a leading figure in the development of modern geostatistics and spatial data science, with applications in Earth Sciences, environmental studies, and mineral and energy resources. His scientific contributions have received international recognition, including his distinction as a Distinguished Lecturer by the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences (IAMG).

More recently, his work has focused on the application of these methodologies to contemporary environmental and societal challenges, including the geostatistical mapping of SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in Portugal and the spatio-temporal modelling of extreme drought events in the south of the country.

At Instituto Superior Técnico, he played a central role in promoting research and development. He led the creation of the CMRP – Center for Petroleum Reservoir Modeling, where he served as President. He was also a co-founder of ROADS – Observation and Analysis Network for Desertification and Drought, and contributed to the merger of research centres in the geosciences, which led to the creation of CERENA – Center for Natural Resources and Environment, a unit he also chaired.

In the academic domain, he actively contributed to the development of new Master’s and PhD programmes. He has also promoted knowledge dissemination through digital platforms, notably by creating the YouTube channel “Amílcar Soares”, where he shares lectures in Introductory and Advanced Geostatistics.

He is widely recognised for his scientific and academic contributions and is the author of numerous works that have advanced the field of geostatistics and its applications.