Personal Information
Address:Leiden Observatory / J.H. Oort Building, Niels Bohrweg 2 / NL-2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
E-mail: russo@strw.leidenuniv.nl
Telephone: +31 6 54 37 26 58
Nationality: Portuguese
Work Experience
2011 - present: Leiden Observatory/Leiden University, the Netherlands
EU Universe Awareness International Project Manager
2007 - 2010: International Year of Astronomy 2009 Secretariat, Garching bei München, Germany
(ESO Education and Public Outreach Department / International Astronomical Union / UNESCO)
International Year of Astronomy 2009 Coordinator / Outreach Scientist
2000 - 2006: Navegar Foundation, Espinho, Portugal
Astronomer.
Content Research, Development and Production Department Coordinator.
1999 - 2000: Porto Planetarium, Porto, Portugal
Astronomy communicator.
1998: European Youth Science Meeting, Coimbra, Portugal
Logistics Coordinator
1998: Universal Exhibition Lisbon 98, Portugal
Volunteer at the Utopia Pavilion.
Education
2006: Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Germany
International Max Planck Research School on Physical Processes in the Solar System and Beyond at the Universities of Braunschweig and Göttingen.
PhD Research thesis: Vertical structures of the Venus cloud tops and the nature of the ultraviolet absorber.
2005: Faculty of Sciences, Porto University, Portugal
Master in Geophysics
Research thesis: Thermal Inertia and Surface Properties of Mars.
2004: Faculty of Sciences, Porto University, Portugal
Diploma of Advanced Studies in Geophysics.
2003: Faculty of Sciences, Porto University, Portugal
Licenciatura (4 years degree) in Physics/Applied Mathematics (Astronomy).
Research Interests
2006 - 2008: Planetary atmospheres.
2005 : Faraday Waves in Zero Gravity.
2004 - 2006: Mars Atmospherical, Geophysical and Exobiological Characterisation.
2004 - 2005: Early Universe Gamma Ray Burst Detection.
2002 - 2003: Chemistry Model for Life Origin.
1999 - Present: Astronomy Education and Public Outreach
Awards
2011: American Association for the Advancement of Science - Science Magazine SPORE Award for Universe Awareness
2010: Portuguese National Multimedia Award with the TV show 1 Minute of Astronomy
2010: Honorable Mention with the project Science Office in the National Prize for Creative Industries 2010 with Luis Calçada, Nuno Esteves and Mariana Barrosa
2009: Seeds of Science 2009: Special Prize.
2005: Portuguese Physics Association Award for the Research Work: Thermal Inertia and Surface Properties of Mars.
Selected Talks
- Astronomy Education and Public Outreach for Development, Invited Colloquium, School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff (UK) December 2012
- Astronomy for Development, Invited talk, SKA Workshop, Lisbon (PT), December 2012
- EU Universe Awareness, Invited talk, EU Embrace Space Conference, Larnaca (CY), November 2012
- Astronomy Education and Public Outreach for Development, Leiden Observatory Science Day, Leiden (NL), September 2012
- Communicating Astronomy & Space with the Public, Invited talk, VII Ogólnopolskie Seminarium Studentów Astronomii, Zielona Góra (PL), September 2012
- EU-Universe Awareness, Invited talk, IAU General Assembly, Beijing (CN), August 2012
- Identifying Opportunities For Communicating Astronomy with The Public, IAU General Assembly, Beijing (CN), August 2012
- IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Task Force 2: School & Children, Invited talk, IAU General Assembly, Beijing (CN), August 2012
- Citizen Science: the Case of Astronomy, Learning through Research 2012, Paris (FR), July 2012
- Astronomy for Development, Invited talk, National University Timor Lorosae, Dili (TL), June 2012
- EU Universe Awareness, Talk, Public Communication of Science and Technology 2012, Florence (IT), April 2012
- The IAU Strategic Plan, Invited Seminar, Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Warsaw (PL), April 2012
- Astronomy & Society: The Legacy of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, IMAX Event, Warsaw (PL), April 2012
- Collaborations Between Scientists & Non-scientists: Case of Astronomy and Related Space Sciences, Invited Seminar, Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, Faculté de Medecine Paris Descartes, Paris (FR), March 2012
- EU-Universe Awareness, Office of Astronomy for Development Stakeholders Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa, December 2011
- IYA2009 Lessons Learned, Office of Astronomy for Development Stakeholders Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa, December 2011
- Some Ideas for the Educational Task Force, Office of Astronomy for Development Stakeholders Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa, December 2011
- Evaluation of astronomy for development (with Valério Ribeiro, UCT), Office of Astronomy for Development Stakeholders Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa, December 2011
- The International Legacy of IYA2009, Communicating Astronomy with Public 2011, Beijing, China, October 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, Communicating Astronomy with Public 2011, Beijing, China, October 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, International Astronautical Congress 2011, Cape Town, South Africa, October 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, Science Centre World Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, University Eduardo Mondlane and Ministry of Science and Technology, Maputo, Mozambique, September 2011
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009: Lessons learned, Science Centre World Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2011
- IAU Astronomy for Development, Astronomical Society of Pacific 2011, Baltimore, US, July 2011
- Astronomy, XII Encuentro Nacional RAC, Barrancabermeja, Colombia, August 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, Astronomical Society of Pacific 2011, Baltimore, US, July 2011
- Pro-Am Collaboration in Astronomy, European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 2011
- EU-Universe Awareness, Scientix Conference, Brussels, Belgium, May 2011
- The International Year of Astronomy: How did it go and what did we learn?, Public Communication of Science & Technology – PCST 2010, New Delhi , India, 8 December
- Modern Astronomy, Semana da Ciência e Tecnologia, Guarda, Portugal, 23 November
- Divulgação Ciêntifica no séc XXI, XV Encontro da Associação Brasileira de Planetários 2010, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 November 2010
- Modern Astronomy, Astrogalicia 2010, Maceda, Galicia, Spain, 11 September 2010
- JENAM2010, Lisbon Portugal, September 2010
- Interntional Year of Astronomy 2009, UNCOPOUS, United Nations, Vienna, Austria, June 2010
- Modern Astronomy, Invited lecturer, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique
- Interntional Year of Astronomy 2009: Before, Behind and Beyond, Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010, Cape Town, South Africa, March 2010
- Interntional Year of Astronomy 2009, ISU The Public Face of Space, Strasbourg, France, January 2010
- Interntional Year of Astronomy 2009: Before, Behind and Beyond, Closing Ceremony IYA2009, January 2010, Padova, Italy
- Astronomía: una ciencia global, Escuela de Ciudadanía, Consejería de los Jóvenes y del Deporte, Junta de Extremadura, December 2009, Zafra, Spain.
- Revolucionar a Ciência, Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, November 2009, Lisboa, Portugal
- Revolucionar a Humanidade, A Humanidade e o Cosmos 2009, 3º Simpósio Internacional: Fronteiras da Ciência, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, November 2009, Porto, Portugal.
- Ano Internacional da Astronomia 2009, ProfMAT09, September 2009, Viana do Castelo,
- International Year of Astronomy 2009, Europlanet, September 2009, Germany
- Coordinating IYA2009, IAU GA, August 2009, Brazil
- IYA 2009 evaluation, August 2009, Brazil
- International Year of Astronomy 2009, Intersoles 2, July 2009, Shanghai, China
- Let's celebrate Science!, International Youth Camp on Astronomy and World Heritage, July 2009, Suzhou, China
- Coordinating Globally the International Year of Astronomy 2009, AAS2009, June 2009, USA
- Coordinating Globally the International Year of Astronomy 2009, JENAM2009, April 2009, UK
- Astronomy and the International Year of Astronomy 2009, Science Hearing, Portuguese Parliament, March 2009, Portugal
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (Invited talk), II Spanish IYA2009 Meeting, Madrid, Spain, September 2008.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (Invited talk), Portuguese Atronomy Meeting, Evora, Portugal, September 2008.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 needs you! (Plenary talk), JENAM 2008, September 2008, Austria.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 and Education (Invited talk), GHOU, July 2008, Lisbon, Portugal.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 - Global programme (Invited talk), AAS/ASP Joint Conference, St. Louis, USA, June 2008.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Africa and Middle East (Invited talk), Africa/Middle East Regional IAU Meeting, Cairo, Egypt, April 2008.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (Invited talk), I Spanish IYA2009 Meeting, Granada, Spain, Januray 2008.
- Communicating Astronomy (Invited talk), UK’s Young Astronomers Meeting, Edinburgh, UK, December 2007.
- Communicating Astronomy (Invited talk), Max Planck Institute Solar System Research, Germany, November 2007.
- Distribution Services of Astronomy and Planetary Science Outreach Products, CAP2007, October 2007, Athens, Greece.
- Europlanet: Europe explores the Solar System, IAC2008, September 2007, Hyderabad, India.
- Communicating Astronomy and Planetary Sciences, Europlanet 2007, August 2007, Potsdamm, Germany.
- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (Invited talk), GHOU, July 2007, Tokyo, Japan.
- Upper Haze Properties from the Venus Monitoring Camera Limb Images (Invited talk). Venus Express Science Workshop, March 2007, Italy.
- Europlanet and the International Year of Astronomy. International Year of Astronomy Meeting at ESO, March 2007, Germany.
- Planet Venus: An Introduction. Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, December 2006, Germany.
- Astronomy and Space Sciences in Portugal. (Invited talk), Astronomy and Space Sciences: Communication and Education meeting, April 2006, Portugal.
- Geophysics and Astrobiology. (Invited talk), University of Coimbra, January 2006, Portugal.
- Astronomy and Space Sciences in Portugal, International Astronautical Congress, October 2005, Japan.
- X-RED: A Satellite Mission Concept to Detect Early Universe Gamma Ray Bursts, 56th International Astronautical Congress, October 2005, Japan.
- Solar System Research. (Invited talk),University of Minho, September 2005 Portugal.
- Astronomy and Space Sciences Opportunities for Students. (Invited talk), Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, September 2005, Portugal.
- Detection of extremely high redshift gamma ray burst. (Invited talk), IV Workshop: New SpacePhysics, February 2005, Brazil.
- “The Moon is Angry!”: Astronomy and space sciences for a young audience. 55th International Astronautical Congress. October 2004, Canada.
Selected Conferences and Workshops Participation
- EU Embrace Space Conference, Larnaca (CY), November 2012
- IAU General Assembly, Beijing (CN), August 2012
- Public Communication of Science and Technology 2012, Florence (IT), April 2012
- Communicating Astronomy with Public 2011, Beijing, China, October 2011
- International Astronautical Congress 2011, Cape Town, South Africa, October 2011
- Science Centre World Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2011
- Astronomical Society of Pacific 2011, Baltimore, US, July 2011
- European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 2011
- Scientix Conference, Brussels, Belgium, May 2011
- Public Communication of Science & Technology – PCST 2010, New Delhi , India, 8 December
- XV Encontro da Associação Brasileira de Planetários 2010, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 November 2010
- JENAM2010, Lisbon Portugal, September 2010
- UNCOPOUS, United Nations, Vienna, Austria, June 2010
- ICommunicating Astronomy with the Public 2010, Cape Town, South Africa, March 2010
- ISU The Public Face of Space, Strasbourg, France, January 2010
- Closing Ceremony, International Year of Astronomy 2009, January 2010, Padova, Italy
- Closing Ceremony, International Year of Planet Earth, November 2009, Lisbon, Portugal.
- European Planetary Science Congress, September 2009, Germany.
- IAU GA 2009, August 2009, Brazil.
- JENAM 2008, September 2009, UK.
- JENAM 2008, September 2008, Austria.
- AAS/ASP Joint Conference, St. Louis, USA, June 2008.
- Africa/Middle East Regional IAU Meeting, Cairo, Egypt, April 2008.
- Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2007 Conference, October 2007, Greece.
- European Planetary Science Congress, August 2007, Germany.
- European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2007, 15 – 20 April 2007, Vienna, Austria.
- Venus Express Science Workshop, March 2007, Italy.
- European Planetary Science Congress, September 2006, Germany.
- ESConet- Communication Training for Science Researchers, September 2006, Greece.
- IAU General Assembly, August 2005, Czech Republic.
- 56th International Astronautical Congress, October 2005, Japan.
- Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2005 Conference, June 2005, Germany.
- European Space Agency Student Parabolic Flight Campaign 2005, Bourdeaux, France.
- Sicence Culture and Education Development, November 2005, Portugal.
- 55th International Astronautical Congress, October 2004, Canada (ESA Student Participation Programme for the International Astronautical Congress).
- XIV Iberian Meeting for Physics Education, September 2004,,Portugal.
- Alpbach Summer School 2004 - “The Birth, Life and Death of Stars”, August 2004, Austria.
- IPS-2004-17th International Planetarium Society Conference, July 2004, Spain.
- Astronomy Education Meeting: “Actual situation and future perspectives”, January 2004, Portugal.
- The 3rd European Workshop on Exo/Astrobiology: Mars: the search for life Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, November 2004, Spain.
- Interdisciplinary Summer School on the Solar System August 2001, Portugal.
Committee and Public Service Work
- Portuguese Astronomical Society Working Group Member For Basic Education Curriculum Assessment
- Chair for Task Force: School & Children, IAU Office of Astronomy for Development, 2012 -
- Vice-President for the IAU Division XII Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy with the Public, 2012 -
- Manager of the first IAU GA Day Camp 2012
- Judge for Medea Awards 2012
- Judge for the Medea Awards 2011
- Co-organiser of the Leiden Science Communication Seminars Series (since 2011)
- Member ex-officio of EU-UNAWE Committee, since 2011
- Judge for the Medea Awards 2010
- Member of the SOC for JENAM 2010: IYA2009 and PRO-AM sessions, September 2010, Lisbon, Portugal
- Advisor for the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Mozambique, 2010 - 2011
- Member of the European Astronomical Society, since 2009
- Judge for the Medea Awards 2009.
- Member of the SOC for European Planetary Science Congress, September 2009, Germany.
- Secretary for the IAU Division XII Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy with the Public, 2009 - 2012
- Member of the International Astronomical Union, since 2009
- Contributor for the Science White Paper from the Assembly of the Republic Portuguese, X Legislature.
- Organiser of ESO/ESA/IAU/Excellence Cluster ‘Universe’ Astronomy Communication Seminars, 2007 - 2010
- Curator of the 1st ESO Artist-in-Residence Programme, 2009.
- Advisor for the Associação de Investigação Científica de Moçambique
- Member of the SOC for European Planetary Science Congress, September 2008, Germany.
- Participation in the global programme: Above The Poles, International Polar Year 2007-2008
- Member of the SOC for the session “Astronomy Communication” in the International Network on Public Communication of Science and Technology Conferece 2008, Malmö, Denmark.
- Member of the International Astronautical Federation - Science and Society Committee, since 2008
- Member of the SOC for JENAM 2008, September 2008, Austria.
- Member of the think tank: Novo Portugal, Porto, Portugal, April 2008.
- Member of the SOC for AAS 212th and ASP Meeting June 2008, USA.
- Editor-in-Chief for the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal.
- Member of the SOC for European Planetary Science Congress, August 2007, Germany.
- Member of the European Low Gravity Research Association.
- Mmeber of the Portuguese Astronomical Society
- Member of Communicating Astronomy Journal Working Group, IAU Division XII Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy With The Public.
- Member of the Europlanet-European Planetology Network Outreach Steering Committee.
- Member of the LOC for Scientific Visualization European Congress, May 2008, Portugal.
- Member of the SOC for Astronomy and Space Sciences: Communication and Education meeting, May 2007, Portugal.
- Member of the SOC for European Planetary Science Congress, September 2006, Germany.
- Member of the LOC for Astronomy and Astrophysics National Meeting, July 2006, Portugal.
- Member of the Organizing Committe for FEST - Fest Youth Film Festival, 2006.
- Member of the SOC for Astronomy and Space Sciences: Communication and Education meeting, April 2006, Portugal.
- Member of the SOC and LOC for Scientific Visualization National Meeting, September 2005, Portugal.
- Member of the SOC and LOC for Immersive Cinema Workshop, September 2005, Portugal.
- Member of the LOC for Planetary Fourier Spectrometer Meeting, March 2005, Portugal.
- Member of the Coordination Team, Portuguese Youth Science Association, 1998
Educational Experience
- June 2012: Internship supervisor: Alejandro Cárdenas-Avendaño: Open Educational Repositories in Astronomy
- February - June 2012: Master internship co-supervisor: Jaya Ramchandani: Business Development of Universe in a Box
- April - June 2012: Internship supervisor: Angela Pérez : Art & Astronomy Educational Resources for Children Development
- March - July 2012: Internship supervisor: Jan Pomierny: Astronomy Educational Content Distribution Model
- January - May 2012: Master internship co-supervisor: Sara Khalafinejad: Cultural Module, Universe in a Box
- June 2011 - July 2011: Internship supevisor: Maya Barlev, Space and Astronomy Educational Material Development
- May 2011 - July 2011: Internship supevisor: Stephanie Finnvik , Space and Astronomy Educational Material Development
- April – June 2005: Internship co-supervisor: “Script writing”: Paulo Paiva: Sound and image undergraduate student from Catholic University, Porto, Portugal
- March – June 2005: Internship co-supervisor: “Web design: multimedia” Emídio Santos: Multimedia student from Aveiro University, Portugal
- February – June 2004: Internship co-supervisor: “Web communication”: Dora Silva: New Technologies of Communication undergraduate student from Aveiro University, Portugal
- February – June 2004: Internship co-supervisor: “Navegar Foundation: communication with schools”: Rui Carvalho: New Technologies of Communication undergraduate student from Aveiro University, Portugal
- February – June 2004: Internship co-supervisor: “Navegar Foundation: communication with schools”: Rita Alves: New Technologies of Communication undergraduate student from Aveiro University, Portugal
- July 2004: Science in the Holidays for Young People: Teaching modules: Astronomy Introduction, Extragalatic Astronomy, Stellar Evolution and Observational Astronomy, Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal
- 26th to 30th April 2004: Astronomy Workshop for High School Teachers: From the Stars to Atom. Teaching: Sky Observation and Astronomy and the Computers, Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal.
- July 2003: Science in the Holidays for Young People: Teaching modules: Astronomy Introduction, Extragalatic Astronomy, Stellar Evolution and Observational Astronomy, Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal
- 22nd to 26th September 2003: Astronomy Workshop for High School Teachers: From the Stars to Atom. Teaching: Sky Observation and Astronomy and the Computers , Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal
- 26th to 30th May 2003: Astronomy Workshop for High School Teachers. Teaching: Celestial Sphere and Celestial Bodies Orbits, Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal
- 22th to 24th April 2003: Astronomy Workshop for High School Teachers: Astronomy tools. Teaching: Celestial Mechanics and Astronomy and the Computers ,Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal.
- July 2002: Science in the Holidays for Young People: Teaching modules: Astronomy Introduction, Extragalatic Astronomy, Stellar Evolution and Observational Astronomy, Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal.
- July 2001: Science in the Holidays for Young People: Teaching: Introduction to Astronomy, Extragalatic Astronomy, Stellar Evolution and Observational Astronomy, Centro Multimeios de Espinho, Portugal.
- July 2000 - Tour guides training: Introduction to Astronomy. Teaching: Observational Astronomy, Solar System and Extragalactic Astronomy, Association for Cultural Improvement of Children, Porto, Portugal.
- July 1999 - Tour guides training: Introduction to Astronomy. Teaching: Observational Astronomy, Solar System and Extragalactic Astronomy, Association for Cultural Improvement of Children, Porto, Portugal.
Qualifications and Skills
- Management and Project coordination.
- Written and visual science communication.
- Astronomy and space sciences education and public outreach.
- Intracommunity communication
- Media and public relations.
- Innovative knowledge management.
-
New media production:
- Production aesthetics
- Storytelling
- Fulldome
- 3D pipeline production
- Movies and documentaries production
-
Professional use of computers:
- Windows, macOS and Linux
- Office Packages
- Desktop Publishing
- Image Processing
- Vectorial Design
- Video Editing
- Webdesign
- Astronomical Research Software
Biography
Pedro Russo is presently the International Project Manager (IPM) of the FP7 EU Universe Awareness project. He is passionately committed to using astronomy as an educational tool. Pedro is Chair of the Schools and Children Task Force of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Astronomy for Development programme and Vice President of Commission Communicating Astronomy with the Public of the International Astronomical Inion. Until 2010 he was the global coordinator for the largest network ever in Science Outreach, the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Pedro coordinated the planning, implementation, execution and evaluation of the global IYA2009 activities, projects and events. He was also responsible for the communication between the thousands of stakeholders of the project, including projects and national chairs, astronomy community, media and society with respect to all global IYA2009 issues. Pedro obtained his University degree in applied mathematics/physics/astronomy and his Master’s Degree in geophysics from the University of Porto, Portugal. Before assuming his current position, he spent one year and half working with data from the Venus Monitoring Camera onboard ESA’s Venus Express. In the meanwhile he has been working with different international organisations, like Europlanet (European Planetology Network), International Astronomical Union Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy with the Public, European Geophysical Union - Earth and Space Science Informatics Division and International Astronautical Federation -Space and Society Committee. At the European Southern Observatory in Munich Pedro was outreach scientist of the educational and public outreach department. Pedro is also the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal.