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U.Porto Memory

University of Porto Famous Alumni

José Moreira de Araújo

José Moreira de Araújo 1928-2020 Physicist and university teacher

José Maria Ribeiro Moreira de Araújo was born in Porto on 21 September 1928. He is the son of Venâncio Ribeiro de Araújo.

He completed the degree in Physical-Chemical Sciences at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto on 5 July 1949, with the final mark of 19 out of 20, and received his diploma on 15 August of that year.

In mid-twentieth century, he worked as a fellow in the British city of Manchester, in the area of Theoretical Nuclear Physics (1952-1956). José Moreira de Araújo has two doctorates: in 1955, he obtained the degree of "Doctor of Philosophy" by the University of Manchester, defending the thesis "Collective notions in atomic nuclei", and in 1956, Doctor in Physical-Chemical Sciences at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, with the thesis "Alguns aspetos das teorias do Efeito Fotonuclear", with full marks.

During his stay in Manchester, he participated in congresses of Nuclear Physics and Physics of Mesons (Glasgow, 1954) and Physics of Elementary Particles (Pisa, 1955), as a member of the Manchester delegation.

In 1956, he participated in the 22^nd Luso-Spanish Congress for the Advancement of Sciences, held in Coimbra, and in the International Congress on Nuclear Reactions, held in Amsterdam.

In the Faculty of Sciences, where he taught for almost fifty years (he was second assistant between 1949 and 1955, 1^st assistant between 1956 and 1958, extraordinary professor between 1958 and 1960 and full professor of the 1^st group – Physics, 2^nd Department – Physical-Chemical Sciences, between 1960 and 1998), he also directed the Physics Laboratory (1968-1975) and the Physics Centre (1963-1983), and was the Chairman of the Scientific Board – in 1978 and between 1988 and 1991. He retired in 1998 as he reached the age limit.

In the course of his career, José Moreira de Araújo held several important positions. He was a technical advisor of LFEN (Laboratory of Physics and Nuclear Engineering) between 1962 and 1973, Vice-president of the Institute of Advanced Culture (1971-1973), member of the Physics Commission (1976-1992) and Chairman of the Board of Exact Sciences (1989-1992), of the National Institute of Scientific Research (INIC), and also Chairman of the Portuguese Society of Physics (1975-1977, 1984-1986) and of the Publications Committee of the European Physical Society (1984-1987). He was invited to be a visiting professor in S. Paulo, Brazil, in Karlsruhe, Germany and in Brussels, in Belgium.

He was a member of the Scientific and Technical Commission (Euratom) of the European Union (1988-2003), of the Evaluation Commission for Physics and of the group that produced the "Relatório de Auto-Avaliação da Universidade do Porto" [Self-evaluation report of the University of Porto] (a pilot experience of the European Council of Rectors).
He was a member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, Department of Sciences, and 2^nd Group – Physics (elected corresponding member on 7 February 1963 and full member on 13 February 1992). He was an honorary member of the Portuguese Society of Physics (elected in 1999).

José Moreira de Araújo was part of the editorial staff of national and international journals. He has written specialised articles and other works on the development of research and the teaching of Physics in Portugal and the history of institutions.
This Professor Emeritus of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the Faculty of Sciences — University of Porto — was married to Maria Cândida Palha de Araújo and lived in Porto.
He died on 31 August 2020.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2011)