Manuel F. M. Costa hold a PhD degree in Science (Physics) from the University of Minho (Portugal) where he works at the Physics Department since 1985 teaching and performing applied research in optical metrology, image processing, thin films nanostructures and applications, solar energy, optometric instrumentation and science and technology education and literacy. Presented over four 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 of twenty-nine international conferences. He is President of the Ibero-American Optics Network, RIAO, for the term 2019-2022; President of the Hands-on Science Network, HSCI; President of the Portuguese Society for Optics and Photonics, SPOF; President of the Portuguese Territorial Committee of the International Commission for Optics, ICO, for three terms 2011-2020; Executive Committee member and Europe Regional Representative of the International Council of Associations for Science Education, ICASE; Deputy Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Optical Society. He is a Fellow of European Optical Society since 2013.