Manuel Mota, emeritus professor of the Department of Biological Engineering of the School of Engineering of UMinho, having also been vice-rector of UMinho and director of the Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), was distinguished by the Portuguese Society of Biotechnology with the Júlio Maggiolly Novais Career Award, for his role in the development of Portuguese biotechnology.

The award was delivered during the MicroBiotec’21 international congress, organized from November 23 to 26 at the Nova University of Lisbon and promoted by the Portuguese Societies of Microbiology and Biotechnology, aiming to promote knowledge and dialogue between academia and industry. Júlio Maggiolly Novais was a prominent full professor of biotechnology at the Instituto Superior Técnico.