I am a Mechanical Engineer, academic and author of over 250 technical/scientific and pedagogical publications, including more than 70 in international peer-reviewed journals. I started my academic career in 1993 at my Alma Mater, the University of Coimbra (Portugal), moving to the University of Aveiro (Portugal) in 1997. In 2013 I moved to The University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), where I hold the Personal Chair of Impulsive Dynamics. My current research interests focus on understanding the behaviour of materials and structures under impulsive and dynamic loads, and improving their response through better energy absorption mechanisms at different scales, in areas as diverse as the built environment, transport systems, aerospace structures and the human body. My research primarily combines the use of numerical, experimental and analytical/theoretical approaches and methods in impulsive/structural dynamics; materials for energy absorption; protection and armour systems; sports impact and human bio-dynamics; crashworthiness; terminal ballistics, blast and shock wave dynamics, hypervelocity impact and extreme strain rates. I am a co-founder of the Light-Weight Armour for Defence & Security group (LWAG) and I was president of the LWAG from 2008 to 2012. I was the Director of Mechanical Engineering (School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh) from 2021 to 2024. I am a member of the Institute for Infrastructure and Environment (IIE) and of the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions (CSEC). I am also a member of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE).