Maria da Graça Carvalho was born on April 9, 1955.

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She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon, and a PhD from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in the United Kingdom.

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She is a Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (University of Lisbon), specializing in energy and climate change.

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From 2006 to 2009, she served as Principal Adviser to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, in the fields of Science, Higher Education, Innovation, Research, Energy, Environment, and Climate Change.

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She was also an adviser to Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, in 2014 and 2015.

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She served as Principal Adviser at BEPA (Bureau of European Policy Advisers).

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She is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the World Academy of Art and Science, and the Portuguese Academy of Sciences.

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She served as Minister for Science and Higher Education in the 15th Constitutional Government of Portugal from 2002 to 2004.

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She was Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education in the 16th Constitutional Government from 2004 to 2005.

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She was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2014, acting as rapporteur for the Horizon 2020 – Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020), and has been serving again since 2019.

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