Ana Pires is the winner of the Science and Technology category of the Women 3.0 Awards

The INESC TEC researcher was part of the group featuring 10 women acknowledged at the Women 3.0 Awards – a recognition that aims to award women considered “agents of change” in the most diverse sectors.

“Science is my passion”. The words are from Ana Pires, INESC TEC researcher – who, in early January, was chosen by the jury of the Women 3.0 Awards as the winner of the Science and Technology category.

“I was very happy to receive this award. It is a great honour, but also a responsibility that drives me to work harder and strive for excellence, always. I hope to keep contributing to Science and Technology in Portugal, inspiring other young women to ‘spread their wings’ and never give up on their dreams and passions – without any limits!” – she said. Also, according to the researcher, this was a great way to kick off 2024 – a year that she hopes will be full of “new projects, science and development of geotechnologies”.

It’s worth mentioning that, in late 2023, Ana Pires led the first analog mission carried out in Portugal. In November, a group of seven scientists were confined for six nights and seven days in Gruta do Natal (Terceira Island, Azores) to simulate the moon environment. The CAMões (Caving Analog Mission for Ocean, Earth and Space Exploration) project was led by INESC TEC and by the Associação Os Montanheiros, with researcher Ana Pires as mission commander.

The Women 3.0 Awards is an initiative of the G100 Club, Communication & Advocacy Wing, in collaboration with Diplomacy & Business magazine; it aims to “celebrate women who show exceptional leadership and outstanding achievements” and who “drive meaningful and inspiring changes”. With the motto “you can’t be what you can’t see”, these awards aim to “recognise women who, even as transformative agents in various sectors, remain less visible, shrouded in the darkness of social indifference”. The awards ceremony of this year’s edition took place on January 10, in Oeiras.