Scientist and Professor Elvira Fortunato, from the Faculty of Science and Technology at NOVA University Lisbon, has been named, for the 10th year in a row, one of Portugal’s 50 most influential women, in a selection that reflects the growing role of women in politics, science, business and leadership.
With a degree in physics and materials engineering and a PhD in materials engineering from NOVA FCT, Elvira Fortunato is a pioneer in research into transparent and flexible electronics. Former Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education (2023-2024), at the beginning of 2025 she took over the leadership of the new China-European Union Joint Laboratory for Electronic Materials, dedicated to the development of innovative applications from biomedicine to solar cells for space, based in Hefei, China. Her biography, Elvira Fortunato – A life of passion for science, written by Virgílio Azevedo, was published in March this year.
Now in its tenth edition, this is an initiative of Executiva, a brand that includes a website, books and conferences, and whose mission is to contribute to accelerating the parity of women in top management, highlighting their professional careers, their talents and their excellence, without forgetting to promote “role models” who influence others.