Pedro Pina received the PhD degree from the Instituto Superior Técnico in 1999 with a thesis about mathematical morphology for characterization, modelling and simulation of natural resources. He published more than 200 papers in scientific journals, chapters of books and proceedings of international conferences and supervises currently several post-graduate students. His current main research interests are related to the use of image analysis and pattern recognition for the characterization of planetary surfaces and the use of terrestrial analogues from polar regions.