Dr Antonio Portas

Assistant Professor

School: Engineering, Physics and Mathematics

Antonio oversees the secondary partner schools initiatives of NUSTEM, with an emphasis on careers contextualisation in the classroom and curriculum-led outreach activities. His role is part-funded by the Ogden Trust, which aims to support physics and science teachers to enthuse students about physics. Antonio also teaches Applications of Physics on the Mathematics and Physics Foundation Year Programme.

Prior to this appointment Antonio worked for the widening participation team at Leeds Beckett University, where he also taught applied pedagogy to Physics PGCE teacher trainees. Other roles have included Science Outreach Facilitator at the University of Reading (part funded by SEPnet), and work for the Bradford Robotic Telescope at Bradford University, delivering science workshops for pupils and teachers around the usage of robotic telescopes in the classroom.

Antonio was awarded his PhD in Astrophysics in 2010 by University of Hertfordshire. His passion for science communication began when he was a presenter of live planetarium shows in his home town of Oporto.

Campus Address

Ellison Building, E305
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

Email Antonio

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
STEM person of the week: a classroom intervention to support students’ perceptions of, and skills shared with, STEM professionals, Portas, A., Padwick, A., Davenport, C. 23 Sep 2026, In: Frontiers in Education
Association between daily variations in the levels of atmospheric O3, PM2.5, and NO2 and the frequency of hospital visits due to respiratory diseases and hypertension in Mexico City using Generalized Additive Mixed Models, Vega, E., Ruiz-Olivares, A., Miquelajauregui, Y., Rentería-Campos, R., Bramwell, L., Feytmans, R., Namdeo, A., Núñez-Enríquez, J., Entwistle, J., Jaimes-Palomera, M., Torres-Rojas, N., Rascón-Pacheco, R., Duarte-Rodríguez, D., McNally, R., García-Burgos, J., Resendiz-Martinez, C., Fragoso-Chino, Á., Hayes, L., Portas, A., Mejia-Arangure, J. 2 Sep 2025, In: Frontiers in Public Health
Sustainability Education for Young Children: Introductory Life Cycle Assessment, Willis, B., Padwick, A., Portas, A., Shimwell, J., Horan, M., Davenport, C., Beattie, N. 2 Nov 2025, 2025 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Piscataway, US, IEEE
Exploring the Spatial Distribution of Air Pollution and Its Association with Socioeconomic Status Indicators in Mexico City, García-Burgos, J., Miquelajauregui, Y., Vega, E., Namdeo, A., Ruíz-Olivares, A., Mejía-Arangure, J., Resendiz-Martinez, C., Hayes, L., Bramwell, L., Jaimes-Palomera, M., Entwistle, J., Núñez-Enríquez, J., Portas, A., McNally, R. 18 Nov 2022, In: Sustainability
GC Insights: Space sector careers resources in the UK need a greater diversity of roles, Archer, M., Waters, C., Dewan, S., Foster, S., Portas, A. 29 Apr 2022, In: Geoscience Communication
A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers, Davenport, C., Dele-Ajayi, O., Emembolu, I., Morton, R., Padwick, A., Portas, A., Sanderson, J., Shimwell, J., Stonehouse, J., Strachan, R., Wake, L., Wells, G., Woodward, J. 1 Aug 2021, In: Research in Science Education
Changes in air quality in Mexico City, London and Delhi in response to various stages and levels of lockdowns and easing of restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic, Vega Rangel, E., Namdeo, A., Bramwell, L., Miquelajauregui, Y., Resendiz-Martinez, C., Jaimes-Palomera, M., Luna-Falfan, F., Terrazas-Ahumada, A., Maji, K., Entwistle, J., Núñez Enríquez, J., Mejia-Arangure, J., Portas, A., Hayes, L., Mcnally, R. 15 Sep 2021, In: Environmental Pollution
HI in the outskirts of Nearby Spirals, Brinks, E., Portas, A. 1 Mar 2016, In: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
The National Eclipse Weather Experiment: use and evaluation of a citizen science tool for schools outreach, Portas, A., Barnard, L., Scott, C., Harrison, R. 28 Sep 2016, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences