A WEEK OF IDEAS AND CONNECTIONS

Sebastião Mendonça is a 19-year-old tech innovator and social impact leader from Portugal, using robotics and space tech to reimagine how we protect and restore nature.

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He’s the co-founder and CTO of Trovador, a robotics-for-reforestation startup developing autonomous legged robots that plant trees in steep, fire-damaged terrain, restoring land once considered unrecoverable. The project’s impact quickly gained global attention, with its founding duo becoming the youngest ever recognized with the Leadership in Robotics for Sustainability award and invited to present Trovador in over 10 countries across 4 continents.

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Alongside the robot, Sebastião designed a satellite-guided tool that maps post-fire zones where reforestation will have the greatest ecological impact, helping land managers prioritize limited resources and make the most of every euro and every seed. The project also ranked in the top 1% of ~7,000 global participants in the Non-Trivial Research Fellowship. This dual approach – from microsite to macro-map – reflects Sebastião’s belief that restoring nature demands both precision and perspective.

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His journey into STEM and space began early, earning medals in Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and also Philosophy Olympiads. He went on to represent Portugal and Europe in international competitions, even leading a global team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. At just 17, he became one of the few people to ever float in zero gravity, after winning a national astronaut-style selection program that culminated in a parabolic flight alongside astronauts from the European Space Agency (ESA).

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Since then, he’s worked on satellite-ground communication systems for a satellite monitoring Portugal’s coastal waters, and took part in a rocket launch campaign with ESA in the Arctic, launching a rocket to study flight dynamics and atmospheric conditions – reaffirming the power of space technology to solve problems here on Earth.

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But his work doesn’t stop at code or circuitry. For the past four years, Sebastião has been leading educational and social impact programs in Lisbon, focusing on young people from underserved backgrounds. Through a volunteer-run initiative, he organized monthly activities to spark curiosity and confidence, from telescope nights and robotics workshops to philosophy circles and tree-planting days… So far, these programs have reached hundreds of students, helping them explore new worlds, both outside and within.

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Behind every robot and satellite is one of those kids, the kind who got lost folding carefully crafted paper planes and exploring every hillside, tree, and trail their country had to offer. Sebastião’s work is his answer to that wonder – a way to ensure the world stays just as full of it.