Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Air Force visits IPFN
IPFN hosted the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Air Force (CEMFA), General João Cartaxo Alves, for an institutional visit to the Alameda campus of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) on January 23. The visit focused on engagement with the national academic and scientific community, with particular emphasis on areas of relevance to Defence.
Organised by IPFN, the visit included the Director of the Directorate of Engineering and Programmes (DEP), accompanied by other officers from that Directorate. The Air Force delegation was welcomed by IPFN President Bruno Gonçalves and IST President Rogério Colaço, together with faculty members and researchers from several scientific areas of the institute. In the photograph above, the CEMFA is positioned at the centre, with the IPFN President to his right and the IST President to his left.
As part of the programme, IPFN presented research activities carried out across its main scientific infrastructures, including the VOXEL Laboratory, Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL) and the Laboratory for Intense Lasers (L2I). The delegation was introduced to ongoing projects, key results, and technological capabilities with relevance to the Defence domain.
The visit also addressed topics such as electromagnetic shielding and stealth technologies, the detection of hypersonic vehicles, and directed energy systems, with potential applications in countering unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
According to Bruno Gonçalves, 'This initiative reflects IPFN’s commitment to strengthening scientific and technological development and innovation in areas of strategic relevance to national defence, by promoting the exchange of knowledge and scientific and technological capabilities with the Armed Forces and supporting multidisciplinary projects that address societal challenges in security and defence.'
