Authentication

User ID:

Password:

Iniciar sessão

U.Porto Memory

University of Porto Famous Alumni

João Cabral

João Cabral 1921-2003 Chemist and university teacher

João Luiz Leão Cabreira de Oliveira Cabral was born in Porto on 14 July 1921.

He graduated in Chemical-Industrial Engineering in 1945, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. In the following year, he was invited to teach as 2nd assistant of the 2nd group – Chemistry –, of the 2nd Department – Physical-Chemical Sciences –, of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto.

He completed his doctorate degree six years later, defending the dissertation entitled Análise Polarográfica de Corantes Azoicos (Porto, 1951), jointly supervised by the universities of Porto and Manchester and presented at FEUP.

In 1965 he was appointed extraordinary professor of the 2nd Group, 2nd Department, before the public exams, and in 1967 he became full professor (again, before public exams). At the Faculty of Sciences, he headed the Chemistry laboratory between 1968 and 1970, was professor secretary between 1968 and 1971 and chaired the Scientific Board in 1980. He was one of the drivers responsible for the modernisation of the Department of Chemistry.
He retired on 14 July 1991.

Early in his career, he carried out research work in the area of Analytical Chemistry, using polarography as the key research method. From the 60s on, as part of his dissertation work for the positions as extraordinary professor - "Síntese e Estudo de Complexos Moleculares Mistos de Cobalto (II) com Halogéneos e Aminopiridinas" -, at Queen’s University, Belfast, during the academic year 1963-64, he focused on the study of Chemistry of Coordination Compounds. Although his research took a different turn, he did not entirely abandon Analytical Chemistry.
Besides the work carried out at the Irish university, as a fellow of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation under the supervision of S. Martin Nelson, he worked between 1949 and 1950 in the area of polarography of azocolorants Dr. H. A. Turner, of the Faculty of Technology of the University of Manchester, as a fellow of the British Council. He also worked in the Department of Analytical Chemistry of M. I. T., in 1953, with Professor David Hume.

João Cabral edited scientific Articles and educational texts. He was one of the most reputed bibliographers of Professor Ferreira da Silva. He published the work "Introdução ao Estudo da Ligação Química" and vol. 23 of the collection "Inorganic Syntheses: two syntheses of complexes with macrocyclic ligands."

From 1990 onwards he was corresponding member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, member of the Chemistry Commission of the Scientific Board of Exact Sciences, National Research Institute between 1982 and 1992, the Portuguese representative (and later associate member) of Commission II.2 of Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry at IUPAC, between 1992-1994 and 1995-1999, respectively, Fellow of IUPAC from 2000 on, member of the Planning Commitee of the International Conferences on Coordination Chemistry, since 1972, chairman of the 26th International Conference on Coordination Chemistry (Porto, 1988), member of the Medical-legal Board since 1968 until it was extinguished, member of the Portuguese Chemistry Society, emeritus member of the American Chemical Society and of the Royal Society of Chemistry, co-founder, in 1983, president, between 1986-1987 and 1992-1993, and vice-president, between 1984 and 1986, of the Portuguese Electrochemical Society and member of the Chemistry Research Centre of Porto, established in 1976.

Beyond academia, Oliveira Cabral was entrusted with public functions: he was councillor of the Porto City Council between 27 May and 15 July 1974, member (1969-1978), secretary (1979-1992) and president (since 1993) of the Portuguese-British Association of Porto.

In 1998 he received the title of Officer of the British Empire and the diploma and medal of the diploma Institute Kurnakov of General Chemistry and Inorganics of the Order of Lenin, Academy of Sciences of the former USSR.

He was married to Maria Fernanda da Rocha Magalhães Lima de Oliveira Cabral, principal researcher of the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto.

He died on 11 October 2003.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2011)