We are pleased to announce that Professor Rodrigo Ferrão de Paiva Martins, Full Professor in the Department of Materials Science at NOVA University Lisbon / NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT), a leading academic figure at CENIMAT|i3N and CEMOP/UNINOVA, and President of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc), has been elected as an Academician of the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness (WAAC), in recognition of his important contributions to advanced functional materials, nanotechnology, microelectronics and optoelectronics, transparent electronics, paper electronics, oxide semiconductors, thin-film solar cells, flexible electronic devices, intelligent sensing materials, and the development of the international materials science community.
Professor Rodrigo Ferrão de Paiva Martins is an internationally influential scholar in contemporary materials science, electronic materials, transparent electronics, and paper electronics. He has long been dedicated to the study of novel functional materials for energy, microelectronics, nanotechnology, and intelligent devices, and has systematically advanced the development of amorphous silicon semiconductors, oxide semiconductors, transparent conductive materials, thin-film devices, flexible electronics, paper-based electronics, optoelectronic devices, sensors, and sustainable electronic technologies. His research has not only expanded the possibilities of electronic devices in terms of transparency, flexibility, light weight, low cost, and green manufacturing, but has also laid an important foundation for next-generation intelligent sensing systems, wearable electronics, environmentally friendly electronic devices, energy conversion and storage materials, and inclusive electronic technologies for future society. As a leading academic figure at CENIMAT, CEMOP/UNINOVA, and the European Academy of Sciences, Professor Martins has continuously promoted advanced materials, electronic devices, research platform development, and international academic collaboration. He has also served as President of the International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS) and as a member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), making outstanding contributions to global materials science, intelligent devices, innovation governance, and international scientific and technological cooperation.
WAAC believes that the study of artificial consciousness requires not only advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, neuroscience, computational models, and philosophical theory, but also material foundations, sensing hardware, flexible electronics, intelligent sensing, and sustainable device systems for future artificial agents, embodied systems, intelligent robots, and human–machine integration environments. Professor Martins’s work in advanced functional materials, transparent electronics, paper electronics, oxide semiconductors, flexible electronic devices, microelectronics and optoelectronics, intelligent sensing materials, and sustainable electronic systems provides important theoretical resources and technical support for embodied perception, environmental interaction, the hardware foundations of intelligent agents, wearable intelligence, human–machine integration interfaces, multimodal sensing systems, and the material carriers and engineering realization of future artificial consciousness systems. His research path, spanning materials science, microelectronics, optoelectronics, nanotechnology, energy devices, intelligent sensing, and the development of international scientific organizations, offers significant inspiration for connecting artificial consciousness theory, intelligent material systems, and future embodied intelligent systems.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to advanced functional materials, transparent electronics, paper electronics, oxide semiconductors, microelectronics and optoelectronics, flexible electronic devices, intelligent sensing materials, sustainable electronic technologies, and the development of the international materials science community, the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness has decided to confer upon Professor Rodrigo Ferrão de Paiva Martins the title of WAAC Academician.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
WAAC Academicians come from world-leading universities, national academy systems, and frontier research institutions, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the University of California, Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, University College London, the University of Padua, the University of Queensland, the University of Exeter, the French Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and the Max Planck Institute. The body of Academicians includes multiple Nobel Prize laureates, Turing Award laureates, members of national academies of sciences and engineering, Fellows of the Royal Society, and Fellows of internationally important academic organizations such as IEEE, AAAI, AAAS, and the British Academy. By bringing together leading scholars in natural consciousness research, machine consciousness modeling, brain science mechanisms, cognitive robotics, deep learning, brain-computer interfaces, and AI governance, WAAC has built an artificial consciousness research ecosystem that combines scientific depth, technological frontier orientation, philosophical insight, and global collaborative capacity, demonstrating its academic foundation and international influence in the emerging field of artificial consciousness science.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.