OLLSCOIL na hÉIREANN
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND
Text of the Introductory Address delivered
by Professor Philip O’Kane on 10 May, 2002 in University College Cork on the
occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa,
on RICARDO MELCHIOR NAVARRO.
Chancellor, Lord Mayor, members of
the University,
Ricardo Melchior Navarro was born
on February 18, 1947 in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary
Islands, which are part of the Kingdom of Spain. He studied Industrial Engineering at the modern University of
Navarra in metropolitan Spain, specialising in Industrial Organization. Subsequently, he travelled to Germany to
study both Engineering and Economics at the Technical University in Aachen, the
renowned Technische Hochschule of Rhein-Westfalia. He was awarded the higher degrees of Diplom Ingenieur and Diplom
Wirtschaftsingenieur.
In 1977 he returned to the island of
Tenerife and was appointed director of CAPSA, the company in charge of the Port
of Tenerife, where he worked for four years. In 1981 he was offered a
management position as Head of the "New Energies" department of
UNELCO, the island's electricity utility company. Since that year he has actively campaigned for the creation of a
centre for research and development of renewable energies for the Spanish
islands in co-operation with their local authorities.
In July 1987 Ricardo Melchior was
elected Vice-President of the Cabildo de Tenerife – the government of Tenerife
–, a post he has combined with his work as Island Councillor with
responsibility for
·
Planning and Economic Development, from 1987 to 1991,
·
Agriculture and Economic Development, from 1991 to 1995,
·
Agriculture and Water, from 1995 to 1999.
His long-term ambition to create a
centre for research and development of renewable energies for the islands, came
to fruition in 1990, when he was able to create the Institute of Technology and
Renewable Energy dedicated to applied research and development in the field of
renewable energies.
Ricardo Melchior has been the
president of this Institute since its foundation and has actively participated
in the promotion of renewable energies, not only at a local level, but also in
Europe. He is a founder member of the
Eurec-Agency – the European Renewable Energy Council. He has participated actively in many of the projects of the
Institute of Technology and Renewable Energy, frequently in partnership with
similar institutes in the member states of the European Union. He has been an active participant in
national and international seminars, conferences and congresses related to this
area of investigation.
Ricardo Melchior Navarro, was
elected President of the "Cabildo" Tenerife's island authority in
1999, having held the position of Vice-President from 1987 to 1999.
As the President of the Cabildo of
Tenerife, he is also responsible for the presidency of various enterprises and
organizations that belong to the Cabildo and are concerned with
·
the development of renewable
energies;
·
the co-ordination of Research and
Development projects in the Canary islands;
·
the creation of necessary infrastructure
for the development of engineering, local industry and research;
·
the export and transfer of
"know-how" to other islands and countries;
·
the promotion of beneficial
relationships with the national and international scientific community;
·
the training of scientific and
technical personnel in areas related to renewable energies.
Over the last 25 years, Ricardo
Melchior has worked in areas related to the research and development of
renewable energies. He is an
·
An Expert of the European Union's
Directorate General XVII (Research and Development),
·
a member of the Scientific Committee
of the German Institute of Solar Energy,
·
a founding member of the European
Solar Council (Paris Club), The Communities of Europe for Renewable Energies
(CERE) and the European Renewable Energy Agency,
·
President of the Board of Trustees
of the Teide National Park.
In honouring Ricardo Melchior we
celebrate his life-long commitment to the practical realisation of renewable
energy, which is so important for
the amelioration of global warming
and climate change, and for the creation of sustainable wealth and youth
employment in island communities, especially on the Atlantic periphery of the
European Union.
It is my pleasure and privilege now,
to present Ricardo Melchior Navarro for the University’s highest honour, Doctor of Science.