On September 30, 2024, in the Noble Hall of Instituto Superior Técnico, the solemn session of the jubilee lecture of Prof. Amílcar Soares took place, with the participation of the Secretary of State for Energy, Prof. Maria João Pereira, the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Prof. Luís Ferreira, the President of Instituto Superior Técnico, Prof. Rogério Colaço, and the former Minister of Economy, Prof. António Costa e Silva.

The session was opened by Prof. Rogério Colaço, who began his speech by highlighting the presence of approximately 180 people in the audience, showing the importance of Prof. Amílcar Soares’ career at Instituto Superior Técnico. “Prof. Amílcar Soares is one of the most remarkable professors of recent years at Instituto Superior Técnico,” he said, adding, “whenever we talk about the areas of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering and everything that Instituto Superior Técnico has contributed to the development of this sector, it is impossible not to think of the work of Prof. Amílcar Soares over the past decades,” thanking all the work done by Prof. Amílcar Soares.

Following this celebration, the intervention of his long-time colleague and friend, Prof. António Costa e Silva, took place, who based his speech not only on professional aspects but also emphasized the importance of painting and drawing in his life. “Throughout our lives, there have been many episodes, and one of the things I wanted to highlight is his extraordinary sense of humor, which changes everything and is part of creative minds,” said Prof. António Costa e Silva.

Before the lecture given by Prof. Amílcar Soares, Prof. Maria João Pereira, his first PhD student, spoke. “It is a great joy to be here to celebrate and honor Prof. Amílcar Soares, the Scientific Advisor, the Boss, the Colleague, the Friend, known by those closest to him as ‘Mico’ and by his collaborators as ‘Boss Mico’,” she began her tribute. Prof. Maria João Pereira emphasized the numerous scientific and professional achievements of Prof. Amílcar, including the authorship of a book and software that were instrumental in the global change of Geostatistics. She also highlighted the tribute paid to Prof. Amílcar Soares at the last international Geostatistics congress, which took place at the beginning of last September in the Azores, 32 years after it was first organized in Portugal by Prof. Amílcar Soares. Prof. Maria João Pereira concluded her speech by saying, “there is a geostatistics after Soares; ‘Geostatistics after Soares, the Amílcar’s way’.”

The lecture given by Prof. Amílcar Soares followed, titled “…from the quantification of knowledge to the characterization of ignorance in natural resources: the lightness of an academic journey.” Prof. Amílcar Soares began by thanking everyone present and gave a presentation that represented not only his scientific and academic journey but also “a group, consisting of my Students, my Colleagues (…) and my Friends.” At the beginning of his lecture, he mentioned the importance of two individuals in his career, namely Prof. Quintino Rogado and Prof. André Journel. After presenting several examples of his research work, which includes the application of geostatistics in the mineral and energy resources industry, as well as the environment, and more recently, in the production of risk maps during the Covid-19 pandemic, he concluded his last lecture by commenting on the subtitle “the smooth journey.” “When you have the Students I had, the Colleagues, the Friends, the journey cannot be any other way,” he said, bidding farewell with, “you cannot imagine how I feel when I see you all here; my soul is full. To all of you, from the bottom of my heart, a very big kiss.”