Pedro Vilaça is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the School of Engineering of Aalto University, where he is the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, with about 30 professors and 300 academic staff members. Previously, he has worked at the IST-University of Lisbon, from 1995 to 2013.

Vilaça's research interests include welding technology, solid-state-based manufacturing, non-destructive testing (NDT), materials science, and hydrogen-related technology. Before starting at Aalto University, Vilaça was president of the Portuguese Society for NDT, since 2009. There is a growing focus on Innovation in manufacturing and NDT, towards new competitive industrial solutions and commercialization, supported by IPRs and promoting spinoff actions. During his career, he has built a large collaboration network with scientists around the world. Vilaça has mature experience in leading R&D teams on fundamental science and support of industrial activities including the energy and aeronautic industry.

Pedro Vilaça has an h-index = 28 (Scopus) and 32 (Google Scholar), from a publication record including 104 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals, 18 papers in national journals, 1 book, 4 book chapters, and over 160 conference-related publications.