EU Prize for Women Innovators 2020 granted to alumna of the U. Porto

Alumna from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) and holder of a PhD in Chemistry, Maria de Fátima Lucas is one of the three winners of the EU Prize for Women Innovators 2020, worth 100 thousand euros.
The EU Prize for Women Innovators recognises female entrepreneurs who are real game-changers in various fields of the industry by advancing exceptional innovation into the market.  

This year, the prize was awarded to four winners, who were announced at the European Research and Innovation Days on 23 September 2020.

A jury of independent experts choses the winners, following an open call for applications, and this year, more than 200 applications were submitted with 21 women being shortlisted for the final.

Maria Fátima Lucas is cofounder and Executive Diretor of Zymvol Biomodeling, a company that develops industrial enzymes electronically and applying molecular modelling.  

Before establishing her company, Maria Fátima Lucas worked as a research in Italy and in the United Kingdom, as well as in the Barcelona Super Computer Center.

At academic level, her path is deeply connected with the University of Porto, namely the Faculty of Sciences, where Maria Fátima Lucas graduated in 2000, and where she got her master degree and her PhD.

The EU Prize for Women Innovators was first launched in 2011, with the goal of raising awareness on the need to have more women entrepreneurs as a reference to other female entrepreneurs and little girls.

The award is financed under the research and innovation programme Horizonte 2020, of the European Union.