João Paulo Flores Fernandes, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minho (UMinho), was awarded the title ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ by the ‘Gheorghe Asachi’ Technical University of Iasi, Romania.
The ceremony took place on 15 November 2024 in the ‘Carmen Sylva’ hall of the Romanian university. The ceremony was attended by numerous personalities from different countries. Also at the same ceremony, Paulo Flores was honoured by the local authorities as an honorary citizen of the city of Iasi.
The honorary doctorate was proposed by the university’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and unanimously approved by the senate of the ‘Gheorghe Asachi’ Technical University of Iasi.
The distinction awarded to Paulo Flores recognises his exceptional contributions to the international development of the science of machines and mechanisms.
For the Romanian university’s senate, the Portuguese scientist has played a key role, not only in the dynamics of mechanical systems, but also in leading international projects and groups in the vast area of mechanical and biomedical engineering.
The ‘Gheorghe Asachi’ University also highlighted the inspirational model of the honoree, highlighting his impact on the modernisation of the field of machine and mechanism science, including the way he faces responsibility in the international positions he has held.
João Paulo Flores Fernandes was born 51 years ago in Rossas, Vieira do Minho, and is a professor at the University of Minho, where he has completed his academic career: a degree in 1997; a doctorate in 2005 and an aggregation in 2011.
In 2009, he was a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zurich, and in 2010, a visiting professor at the University of Arizona, USA.
He has been working at the University of Minho since 1995, where his interests lie in the areas of mechanical system dynamics, design and selection of mechanical components, mechanical contact and biomechanics.
He has been a full professor since 2013, and is the author of hundreds of publications, regularly appearing on the ‘World’s Top 2%’ list of the world’s leading scientists, and is editor-in-chief of the prestigious scientific journal ‘Mechanism and Machine Theory’.
SOURCE: TV Europa