The King Felipe VI Chair in Information Science and Related Technologies

The King Felipe VI Endowed Chair in Information Science and related technologies (formerly Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair)  at the University of New Mexico was established in October 2000. It was endowed by Iberdrola, a Spanish electric utility company, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology (currently, Ministry of Science and Innovation) of Spain. The Professor selected to hold the Endowed Chair must be a pre-eminent scholar in Information Science and related technologies and high degree of familiarity with contemporary Spanish society and the contemporary environment of education, government, business, science and technology in Spain; and extensive current contacts among leaders in Spain in the fields of science, technology, energy, business and education.

Professor Manuel Hermenegildo, from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the IMDEA Software Institute, Spain, was the first holder of the Chair from 2003 to 2008. From 2008 to 2013 the  holder of the Chair was Prof. Fernando Pérez-González, who were in residence at UNM each fall semester of his tenure, teaching a graduate level course in addition to pursuing local collaborations and research. Prof. Pérez-González  continues the position he has held while at Spain’s Universidad de Vigo. These positions are: executive director of the Galician R&D Center in Telecommunications (Gradiant) and professor of Communication Technologies. The current holder is Prof. Manel Martínez Ramón, from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

The Chair was born with the fundamental objective of establishing a program of excellence in research and doctoral education in specific areas of great practical relevance within the fields of Information Science and Related Technologies, so that, in the realm of this program, and through the participation in it of researchers from Spain. The Chair will serve as a catalyst for joint activities between the University of New Mexico and the Spanish universities and research institutions, both at the academic and industrial levels, within the area of Information and Communication Technologies.