Commander Luis Quaresma

Chief of Innovation and Transformation Division Portuguese Navy

Luis Quaresma is a Portuguese Navy Officer and a specialist in Military Oceanography and Ocean Engineering. He currently serves as Chief of Innovation and Transformation Division at the Portuguese Navy Staff. Since 2000, he has pursued a scientific research career at the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH) in the field of Physical Oceanography. His primary research interests focus on internal tides and high‑frequency non‑linear internal wave dynamics, particularly their influence on bottom sediment transport and turbulent mixing. His work places special emphasis on complex continental shelf environments, including irregular bathymetric features such as submarine canyons. Luis Quaresma's scientific approach is multidisciplinary, combining numerical modelling, in‑situ observations, unmanned systems and remote sensing. His research aims to improve the understanding of high‑frequency ocean dynamics and their implications for naval and joint military operations, as well as to develop unmanned military capabilities that act as force multipliers in missions such as Anti‑Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA).  Published more than 20 scientific papers on physical oceanography domain.  Coordinated, as chief scientist, more than 15 oceanographic research surveys.  Project Manager Officer in more than 10 R&D consortiums.  Invited speaker in several internal conferences in the field of ocean sciences and military oceanography and disruptive technology. Since 2012, he is professor of meteorology and physical oceanography at the Portuguese Naval School and at the Navy Hydrography and Oceanography School. 2017-2025 Director of the Geospatial Meteorological Oceanographic Information Centre (CGEOMETOC) of the Portuguese Navy, where he coordinated a multidisciplinary research team of 15 experts (Geophysics, Geospatial and Software Development) in the development of operational geospatial (GEO) and meteooceanographic products & services (METOC) to support military operations. 2020-2025, Head of Products and Services branch of the NATO Maritime GEOMETOC Centre of Excellence (MGEOMETOC COE). Represents Portugal in the following NATO expertise boards: Military Committee METOC Working Group (MCWG) and Military Oceanography Technical Panel (MILOC). Luis Quaresma served as Chair of the NATO Military Oceanography Technical Panel (MILOC), from 2021 to 2025.