Professor
from Madrid to fill Prince of Asturias chair
One of only three endowments nationally
Spanish
electric utility Iberdrola recently announced at a press conference
in Madrid, Spain, that Professor Manuel Hermenegildo of the
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid has been selected to fill
the Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair in Information Science
and Technology at UNM.
The establishment
of the chair was first announced during the October 2000 visit
to UNM of HRH Prince of Asturias, Don Felipe de Borbón
y Grecia, and Iñigo de Oriol, then President of Iberdrola.
The Prince of Asturias is the title of the heir to the Spanish
throne.
The chair
is the brainchild of former U.S. Ambassador to Spain Edward
Romero. Once Ambassador Romero received approval from the Royal
Household for the chair, he approached Iberdrola about funding
the endowment with a $1.5 million gift to the UNM Foundation.
There are
two other endowed chairs in the United States named for the
Prince of Asturias. One is at Tufts University, and the other
is at Georgetown University, the Princes alma mater.
UNM and
Iberdrola hope to strengthen institutional links and scientific
collaboration between the United States and Spain through the
Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair, to the benefit of both countries.
Hermenegildo
will begin his duties at UNM in fall 2003 in the Departments
of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
UNM
is fortunate that Ambassador Romero had the vision and skills
to make his idea a reality, said Joe Cecchi, dean of the
School of Engineering. With the Chairs international
dimension, this is truly an exceptional opportunity for UNM
to take an important role in the continued development of the
U.S.-Spain bilateral relationship in science and technology.
The
first day I arrived in Spain to assume my duties as U.S. Ambassador,
I presented a list of goals and priorities to the support staff
at the Embassy, said Romero. This endowed chair
was high on my list, because I saw it thenas I see it
nowas a means of reinvigorating the 400 year-old relationship
between Spain and New Mexico in a way that looks to the future.
What
better way than to focus it on the dynamic field of information
science and technology. I am truly delighted that Professor
Hermenegildo will join the UNM faculty next fall. All New Mexicans
owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Prince of Asturias
and Iberdrola for making this extraordinary chair possible.