Manuel F. M. Costa hold a PhD degree in Science (Physics) from the University of Minho (Portugal) where he works since 1985 at its Physics Department teaching and performing applied research in optical metrology, applied optics, thin films and nanoscience, optometry and science education and literacy. Presented over three hundred communications in international meetings and published around the same number of scientific papers, monographs and books. Editor or member of the editorial board of several scientific and educational international journals. Chairperson on nineteen international conferences. Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of EOS, member of the Board of the Iberoamerican Optics Network and member of the Board of Stakeholders of PHOTONICS’21. President of the Hands-on Science Network, of the Portuguese Territorial Committee of the International Commission for Optics and of the Portuguese Society for Optics and Photonics, SPOF. Senior member of SPIE and fellow of European Optical Society.