Students and collaborators

Doctoral students

Past PhD Students.

Bernardo Mota (PhD, 2008) got his degree under my supervision (co-supervisor was Arnaldo do Espírito Santo). His excellent dissertation won the very prestigious «Prix Jeune Historien» of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences (2009). (The dissertation was later published in book form by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation). Bernardo got a Humboldt fellowship and worked in Berlin for a couple of years. He is now at the Classics Department at the University of Lisbon and we collaborate in several projects.

José Miguel Pinto dos Santos's (PhD, 2012) doctoral research was on Kenkon bensetsu, a seventeenth-century text on natural philosophy written by a Portuguese in Japan. I was supervisor together with João Paulo Oliveira e Costa (UNL). His dissertation is an example of first rate scholarship and exceptional linguistic skills. It can be downloaded here (NB: It's a 20MB file, ca. 1000 pages).

Bruno Almeida (PhD, 2012) researched the influence of Pedro Nunes' nautical ideas in sixteenth century Portuguese and European science. His excellent dissertation won the "Prémio Cultura - Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, 2012". Bruno's work is of great quality, the first full length work on a very important topic. Bruno is now a post-doctoral researcher working at the Medea-Chart Project.

Teresa Nobre de Carvalho (PhD, 2013) wrote a dissertation on Garcia de Orta's Colóquios dos Simples (1563). I supervised together with Rui Loureiro. The dissertation won a "Menção Honrosa" in the 2014 edition of the Prize “Almirante Teixeira da Mota” [Academia de Marinha]. A revised and shortened version of Teresa's dissertation was published in the book: Os desafios de Garcia de Orta. Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas da Índia (Lisboa: Esfera do Caos, 2015). Teresa is now a post-doctoral researcher working at CHAM.

Francisco Romeiras's (PhD, 2014) doctoral dissertation was on the teaching and popularization of science, especially the biological sciences, in Portugal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He studied in particular the role played by Jesuit colleges and the journal Brotéria. Francisco's contribution is a major step forward in the comprehension of science in Portugal at the beginning of the 20th century. If you're interested in his work take a look at the site he put up with some results of his research. A revised and shortened version of Francisco's dissertation was published in the book: Ciência, Prestígio e Devoção - Os Jesuítas e a Ciência em Portugal (sécs. XIX e XX) (Cascais: Lucerna, 2015). Francisco's book got a "Menção Honrosa" at the 2015 edition of the “Prémio Victor de Sá de História Contemporânea”. Francisco is now a junior researcher working at CIUHCT.

Mário Simões Fernandes (PhD, 2017) studied cometary theories in Portugal in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He focused particularly in theories and observations of comets by Jesuit mathematicians, unearthing interesting new materials. I co-supervised his research together with Miguel Monteiro (FL-UL).

Luis Tirapicos (PhD, 2017) wrote an excellent -- and long desired -- study of the scientific activities of Giovanni Battista Carbone during the kingdom of D. João V. It was known that Carbone had been the leading figure in the definition of scientific policies in Portugal in the period 1722-1750, but no detailed analysis existed. Luís plans to write a book based on his dissertation. Luís is a now a post-doctoral researcher working at CIUHCT.

Wellington Silva Filho (PhD, 2017) wrote an important dissertation on seventeenth and eighteenth century Portuguese pharmaceutical treatises, and descriptions of the natural history of Brazil, botanics and pharmaceutical knowledge. He studied in particular the influence of Brazilian plants and medical products in Portuguese pharmacy. Wellington is now teaching at Universidade Estadual do Paraná - Campus de Campo Mourão, Brasil.

José Manuel Malhão Pereira's (PhD, 2018) doctoral dissertation was on Portuguese "Roteiros" of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries -- a very important, but still poorly studied topic. His dissertation is a major step forward for a general study of this important body of documents.

Cristina Picanço (PhD, 2019) wrote a dissertation about the descriptions of sea animals by fifteenth to seventeenth century sailors and travelers. She was interested on the narratives used to describe these animals, the discussions around evidence and credibility, the visual depictions, the connection of new observations with ancient knowledge.

Vasco Nuno Figueiredo Medeiros (PhD, 2020). I co-supervised Vasco's work together with Fernando Grilo (FLUL, U. Lisbon). Vasco wrote an ambitious dissertation on art history, with many intersections with the history of science. His work is excellent and I am looking forward to see it published in book form.

Luís Ribeiro (PhD, 2021) wrote the first extended and detailed analysis of the the teaching and practice of astrology among the Jesuits in the 16th and 17th centuries. Luís produced a truly ground-breaking study. He is the first scholar to approach this topic in full command of early modern astrological concepts, techniques and traditions. I co-supervised with Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute, London).

Current PhD Students

Carlos Godinho is working on the cultural history of the armillary sphere. The broader issue is the public image and the symbolic value of specific instruments of science. I am co-supervising with Antonio Sánchez (U. Autónoma, Madrid). (Completion expected in 2022).

Manuel Xavier is studying the "Núcleo de Matemática, Física e Química" and scientific communities in Lisbon in the first half of the twentieth century. I am co-supervising with Ângela Salgueiro (IHC). (Completion expected in 2022).

Sofia Viegas' work is on botanical collections at the University of Porto. I am co-supervising together with Cláudia Castelo (CIUHCT) and Rui Figueira (ISA). (Completion expected in 2023).

Sima Krtalic is working on cartography, cartographic images, and maps as objects. She is member of the MEDEA-CHART Project. I am co-supervising with Joaquim A. Gaspar. (Completion expected in 2023).

Lígia de Azevedo Martins is working on the history of scientific books and collections in Portugal. Ligia is extremely competent in the history of ancient books and libraries in Portugal and her approach to this topic is very novel. (Completion expected in 2023).

José María Moreno Madrid started his Doctoral Program in September 2019. I am co-supervising together with Antonio Sánchez (U. Autónoma, Madrid). He is member of the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438).

Joana Lima de Oliveira started her Doctoral Program in September 2019. She is member of the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438).

Eunice Santos started her Doctoral Program in February 2022. I am co-supervising together with Luís Ribeiro. Eunice will be studying the astrological work of Antonio Najera.

Carmo La Cerda started her Doctoral Program in February 2022. She is member of the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438).

Visiting PhD Students and other PhD Students

Zaqueu Vieira Oliveira, USP, visited our group and worked under my supervision from April to June 2014. Zaqueu studied the mathematical works of van Roomen, and recently got his PhD degree in Brazil.

Letitia Destro, from PUC-Rio, visited our group and worked under my supervision from May to September 2015. Leticia is working on the fifteenth century knowledge of Africa and the construction of an image of the negro.

Joseph da Costa, from King's College, London, visited our group from September to December 2016.

Nuno Castel-Branco studied under my supervision as a graduate student, for more than one year. He then entered the doctoral program at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, where he got his PhD in 2021.

Luiza de Oliveira da Silva, from UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) visited our group from March to May 2018.

Otavio Crozoletti Costa, from USP (São Paulo, Brasil) visited our group from May to July 2018.

Master students

Past MSc students

Pedro Raposo (MSc, 2006) got his MSc degree under my supervision and went on to win a «Magellan Prize» at the University of Oxford. He completed his DPhil degree in Oxford under Jim Bennet in 2010. Pedro returned to our group as a post-doctoral researcher for a brief period and recently got the place as Curator of Instruments at the Adler Planetarium, in Chicago.

Luis Tirapicos (MSc, 2010) got his degree with a dissertation on telescopes in Portugal (mostly in the eighteenth century). Luis is already the leading expert in this subject and his work is a major advance in our understanding of this topic.

Ana Bastião (MSc, 2010) edited a late seventeenth century text on nautical matters. This is an important topic since studies on Portuguese nautical techniques tend to focus only on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Alexandre Silva (MSc, 2011) wrote his dissertation on the historical development of the stereographic projection. He studied the mathematics involved, discussed some of the historical problems involved and explained practical applications of astrolabes.

Ana Marín (MSc, 2011) finished her dissertation under my supervision (co-supervisor was José Vaquero) on the scientific activities (meteorology, astronomy) of Bento Sanches Dorta (1739-1795).

Natércia Soares (MSc, 2014) studied the knowledge of Archimedes' works in Portugal. Starting from medieval and early modern manuscripts and going up to eighteenth century printed works she investigated how the works of the famous Greek mathematician were known and used in Portugal.

Gianriccardo Pastore (MSc, 2014) did his dissertation on Astrology and Inquisition in 16th-17th cent. Portugal. Gianriccardo centered mostly on book censorship -- he made an analysis of the scientific books present in 16th cent. Portuguese Indices.

Carlos Godinho (MSc, 2016) wrote a very original dissertation on the history of the armillary sphere (co-supervisor was Antonio Sánchez). He is now pursuing a PhD.

Ana Garção (MSc, 2017) studied João Rodrigues's description of seventeenth-century Japanese astronomy. She edited an important manuscript on the topic.

Inês Bénard da Costa (MSc, 2019) wrote a dissertation on arabic astronomy, translating some original texts.

Mafalda de Freitas (MA, 2020) wrote a dissertation on museography of science. I co-supervised with Jorge dos Reis (Faculdade de Belas Artes, UL).

João Quartilho (MSc, 2021) wrote a dissertation on Historical Epistemology and the concept of scientific objectivity.

Eunice Santos (MSc, 2021) made a new edition of Abraham Zacut's important astrological text "Tratado breve de las influencias del cielo".

Maria do Carmo La Cerda (MSc, 2022) studied the scientific career of Francisco Faleiro.

Current Master Students

Gisele Marques Banin is working on the oceanographic researches of King D. Carlos. I am co-supervising with Cristina Luís (FCUL). (Completion expected in 2022).

Fernando Correia de Oliveira is writing a dissertation on the first mechanical clocks in Portugal. (Completion expected in 2022).

Marta Passadeiras. Will be working on the history of astrology. I am co-supervising with Francisco Romeiras (FCUL). (Completion expected in 2022).

Maria Neves Gomes. Will be working on Ribeiro Sanches and scientific relations between Portugal and Russia. I am co-supervising with Francisco Romeiras (FCUL). (Completion expected in 2022).

Carolina Resende. Will be working on the history of astrology. I am co-supervising with Francisco Romeiras (FCUL). (Completion expected in 2022).

Postdoctoral researchers

Samuel Gessner (2008-2014) has been doing excellent work on instruments, especially sixteenth century instruments. He is an expert of international reputation in his field and his contributions have been of the utmost importance for the history of scientific instruments in Portugal. Together we have explored a number of different topics, from mathematical tiles, to courtly practices and visual representations of science. It has been a long, fruitful and very exciting collaboration.

Luana Giurgevich (2010 - 2019 ) working with me on scientific libraries in Portugal and the circulation of scientific books in the early modern period. She did a massive inspection of primary sources related to ancient libraries in Portugal, especially libraries in monasteries, convents and other religious houses. She has also examined in detail the circulation of scientific books in Portugal. Together we published Clavis Bibliothecarum: Catálogos e Inventários de Livrarias de Instituições Religiosas em Portugal até 1834 - an exhaustive list of nearly 1.000 catalogues of ca. 400 ancient libraries plus hundreds of related documents. Luana is now (2020-) a postdoctoral researcher at the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438)

Joaquim Alves Gaspar (2011 - 2017) is a pioneer in the development and application of modern cartometric techniques to the study of ancient (sixteenth century) nautical charts. This is a new technique and, in my opinion, one of the most promising approaches to the history of cartography to have appeared in recent years. We already published some of our joint work, and more is about to appear. Joaquim won an ERC -Starting grant and he is the PI of the Medea-Chart Project. We collaborate on common projects.

Antonio Sánchez Martínez (2011 - 2016) is working on Portuguese and Spanish cartography of the early modern period. Antonio approaches the topic with tools from intelectual and cultural history and is opening new vistas on what many considered to be an old subject. Together we have been working on the concept of "Iberian science", an important notion that in our view requires a more precise delimitation.

Thomas Horst (2013 - ) is an expert in globes, cartography and cosmographical knowledge in Europe in the early modern period. He is also interested in the scientific connections between Portuguese and German scholars in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and we started a project on this topic together. We are presently working on an exceptional document, completely unknown to historians: Leonard Thurneysser's description of Portuguese plants and animals written while he was staying at the house of Damião de Góis in Lisbon. Thomas' knowledge and skills are a guarantee that this will turn out to be a very nice piece of research.

Francisco Romeiras (2017 - ) is working in a post-doctoral project about science and book censorship in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The topic is still poorly studied and Francisco's work is a much desired investigation.

Nuno Vila-Santa (2019-) post-doctoral researcher at the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438).

Juan Acevedo (2020-) post-doctoral researcher at the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438).

David Salomoni (2020-) pot-doctoral researcher at the RUTTER Project (ERC AdG 833438).

Visiting post-doctoral researchers

Jorge Fernando Araújo visited at our group for some months. We worked on a joint project on the making of the very earliest telescope lenses, 1609-1615. Jorge has a long expertise in lens-making techniques and this allowed us to study and reproduce in detail the peculiar aspects of this type of craftsmanship.

Gonçalo Dias worked with me for about one year. We studied in some detail the question of newtonianism in Portugal.

Marina López López, from Mexico, visited our group from May to July 2018.

Other Co-authors, Colleagues and Collaborators

Walter Alvarez (UC Berkeley) is a world famous Geologist with whom I wrote two papers. Collaborating with Walter was a great honour and one of the most rewarding experiences in my professional life. I learned immensely from him (both scientifically and from a human point of view) during the time we worked together.

Rui Magone is sinologist living in Berlin. Along the years Rui has been my trusted advisor on all things chinese -- and much more. We have a major project going on.

Luis Carolino and I have discussed topics of common interest and we published a paper together. Luis has a brilliant career and is today one of the most respected historians of science in Portugal.

Palmira Fontes da Costa is a colleague historian of science with whom I published a paper. Although we usually work on very different topics when the opportunity came to do a joint work we did not hesitate.

Magno Moraes de Mello is an historian of art, now in Brazil. When he was living in Portugal we worked together on seventeenth-century jesuit texts on perspective and painting.

José Eduardo Franco and I edited a book with a selection of João Pereira Gomes's works.