Pedro Miguel Echenique awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the UAM
The Autonomous University of Madrid has conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Pedro Miguel Echenique, Professor Emeritus of the UPV/EHU and President of the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC).
The President of the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and Professor Emeritus of the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Pedro Miguel Echenique, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate together with Professor Eugenio Coronado in a ceremony that took place today at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). Since its inception in 1968, the UAM has become a global leader in various disciplines of science and literature, with almost a hundred lecturers and distinguished figures on its faculty, joined today by Professor Echenique and Professor Coronado through this high distinction.
The Rector of the UAM, Amaya Mendikoetxea, presided over the ceremony, which was attended by the Basque Government’s Minister of Education, Jokin Bildarratz and the Deputy Minister of Universities and Research, Adolfo Morais, the Rector of the UPV/EHU, Eva Ferreira, and the former Rectors of the UPV/EHU, Nekane Balluerka and Iñaki Gorizelaia.
Professor Fernando Flores, holder of a Gold Medal from the UAM and winner of a National Research Award, delivered the laudatio for Professor Echenique. In it he provided a comprehensive overview of Echenique’s research career, whom he described as “one of the most important Spanish scientists in the last 30 years”. But before listing his extensive achievements, he reflected on the things that he believes define a person: “In science, as in many other areas, boldness is vital: that God-given instinct that surfaces in our youth and drives us to explore the unknown (…) Pedro has a number of qualities that, without question, are combined with the boldness he requires to fuel his creativity and success as a scientist”.
From the early days of Echenique’s research career, he highlighted his work at the prestigious Cavendish Laboratory in the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of the celebrated Professor John Pendry. As a result of this work, in 1976 Echenique published his doctoral thesis “Interaction of energetic particles with surfaces” and several seminal papers in the field of surfaces. The collaborations between Echenique and Professors John Pendry and Archie Howie from the Cavendish Laboratory continued over the years, culminating in the University of Cambridge naming Professor Echenique as an “Overseas Fellow of Churchill College” in 1985, a distinction that only Nobel laureates of the calibre of Ken Arrow, Felix Bloch and Philip Anderson have received.
From his 30 years as a Professor at UPV/EHU, Flores praised Echenique’s success in creating a first-rate research group with a global reputation for outstanding scientific work and for putting in place the necessary infrastructure to consolidate this group and establish and maintain important international collaborations.
Prime examples of this are his efforts to promote the creation of the University of the Basque Country-CSIC Joint Centre, the first nanotechnology centre in the Basque Country, CIC nanoGUNE, and above all the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), an institution universally recognised as a global leader, which publishes over 500 scientific papers, receives over 25,000 citations, and welcomes some 200 scientific visitors from different countries and continents every year.
You can read Professor Fernando Flores’ laudatio for Pedro Miguel Echenique here:
In his acceptance speech, Professor Echenique expressed his gratitude for this distinction which he considered an important recognition of his scientific career and the excellence of the institution to which he belongs, the University of the Basque Country/ Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. The Rector of the UPV/EHU, Eva Ferreira, declared: “rarely would it be more fitting to use the adjective ‘excellent’ than when describing Professor Echenique’s academic and human achievements: an extraordinary contribution to research and also an outstanding contribution to the development of research facilities. But I would like to emphasise the more personal aspects of his work: his passion for knowledge and his desire to connect science and beauty. A stimulating and daring conversationalist, he is always keen to impart his passion for science to younger generations and is a proud academic of his university, the University of the Basque Country”.
Echenique took the opportunity to urge the younger generations to have the courage to pursue the path of research. “Anyone who has experienced the pleasure of seeing something for the first time, no matter how small, the ‘moment of discovery’, will be hooked forever and find it difficult to give up research ”, remarked Echenique. But then he warned: “Creativity, whether in science or in art, cannot be orchestrated; it arises spontaneously from individual talent. We must nurture the makers, the creators of ideas, the creators of wealth, the creators of beauty. The best policy for science is to create plenty of opportunities for our young people”.
Professor Echenique’s numerous honours include the Prince of Asturias Award and the Blas Cabrera National Research Award, the two most prestigious physics awards in Spain. On the international stage, he holds the Max Planck Prize and is an honorary member of the European Physical Society, a title held by only 19 prominent physicists, including eight Nobel laureates, three former CERN directors and the outstanding astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
An honorary doctorate is the highest academic distinction awarded by the Autonomous University of Madrid, and is conferred on individuals of extraordinary academic, scientific, cultural, technical or humanistic merit, of renown in Spain or overseas, who make a significant contribution to advancing and promoting the values of the Autonomous University of Madrid or who have close ties with this institution. With this honour, Professor Echenique now holds six honorary doctorates.
