Pedro Costa graduated in Physics and obtained his PhD degree in Materials Engineering at the University of Minho, Portugal in 2013. He is currently a researcher at the same university working in polymer-based composites for energy harvesting, sensors and actuator applications. He participates in several international conferences, has published in scientific journals and has one patent registered. His research interests are in the field of polymer-based smart material composites and their applications, including energy harvesting and generation. Carlos M. Costa received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Science School of the University of Minho, where he currently works as an assistant researcher. His work is focused on the development of electroactive polymer based porous membranes, anode and cathode materials for energy storage applications with a particular focus on lithium-ion batteries, printed batteries. He has expertise in processing, characterization and optimization of sustainable polymers and polymer nanocomposites for sensors and actuators. He has published extensively in the fields of lightweight multifunctional materials and sustainable energy storage. Prof. S. Lanceros-Mendez is currently the Ikerbasque Professor and Scientific Director at the Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, Leioa, Spain. He is also Associate Professor at the Physics Department of the University of Minho, Portugal (on leave), where he belongs to the Center of Physics. His work is focused in the area of smart and functional materials for sensors and actuators, energy and biomedical applications, with over 450 ISI publications in the field, three edited books, over 14 book chapters and 9 patents.
