Serious Thinking
Now and Then
By João Ferreira*
When I was invited to write for the second time for INESC TEC's BIP I hesitated, thought about it and ultimately decided to accept it. Those who know me know that I am a man of few words. But afterall, 2 times in about 30 years might not be that unreasonable.
I had the habit of saying: "I don't like to talk (or write, it doesn't matter for this case) without having anything to say”. I thought it was a distinguishing feature that complimented me but then I realized that having nothing to say is just a sign of ignorance. Therefore, I stopped saying that cliché and started saying nothing at all.
It was in the middle of this deafening silence, indeed silence because it is full of noise, just like void is full of matter and anti-matter which annihilates and builds itself back up, according to what some theories in the field say. But as I was saying, it was in the middle of that deafening silence that Catarina (from SCOM - the Communication Service) caught me off guard and I just couldn't refuse.
I was born during the dictatorship regime, they called me João and I'm best known as 'the bearded one' or even as Santa Claus. I have a degree in Physics and when people ask me what do I do for a living, I allow myself to say that I'm a physicist which is kind of exaggerated but at least I can tell you I didn't do a single subject through equivalence.
I had the luck to finish my degree exactly when INESC TEC was created in Porto and to be invited by one of its founders, António Pereira Leite, who was my professor back then and a very dear friend of mine nowadays. INESC TEC, which is now a great Institution, couldn't exist without the effort of its pioneers. Besides Pereira Leite, Artur Pimenta Alves, José Manuel Salcedo, Manuel de Barros, Joaquim Jorge Gouveia and Mário Jorge Leitão were also responsible for its creation. If I missed someone from such distant times, I'm sorry. They were backed up by INESC TEC's board, namely José Manuel Tribolet and João Loureço Fernandes who where stationed in Lisbon.
Some of these pioneers stayed until present times, some others left a little early; some have been frequently remembered while others have become a little overlooked. But those that have come after them have always met the expectations whether on management, with Pedro Guedes de Oliveira and José Manuel Mendonça, whether directing the different fields of work, the initial ones and the ones that have since been created along with the transformation over the years. Here, I would like to highlight a single name because it is perhaps the most unknown to the new generations. Professor Ruela had a subtle but also indispensable role on the growth of the networks group, which is now inevitably subdivided due to the technological evolution and the great importance that it acquired. The optical communications technology (physical level) whether fibre or wireless was the primal competence of the Optoelectronics group (current CAP) and is nowadays distributed on the networks, particularly on the field led by Henrique Salgado. I can't pass on the opportunity to highlight some of the names of the pioneers of those times because they also put their blood sweat and tears into making this happen. On optoelectronics, Abel Costa, Henrique Salgado, Teresa Almeida, Jorge Castro, José Luís Santos, Irineu Dias, Paulo Simões Moreira, José Feliz Teixeira, Sérgio Ferraz Santos, Sílvio Abrantes. On telecommunications, video and audio: António Gaspar, Alberto Maia, Teresa Andrade, Manuela e Nuno, Nuno Almeida, José Manuel Cabral, Joaquim Esteves Neves, Pedro Cardoso, Aníbal João Ferreira, Manuel Ricardo, Isabel Martins, José Carlos Caldeira, José Manuel Moreira, Nelson Freire, Artur Moura, Eurico Inocêncio. On networks: Eduardo, Lino Oliveira, Berta Baptista, Carlos Guimarães. On the electronics' CAD: Alberto Maia and José Carlos Azevedo. On the electronics workshop: Fernandes, Barbosa, Nuno Costa. On IT network: Adelino, João Neves. Olga, on the library. I hope the telephone operators can forgive me but I can't remember their names right now. We didn't have security guard or doorman as some people had the keys and others just like me stayed until late and simply just shut the door on their way out. On the administrative division: Regina Freitas, Eunice Ferreira, Cidália Lima are some of the names that I remember from the beginning but there were also a lot more and good elements... I almost forgot but I'm glad I still remembered it in time, back in the day there was already a small group, which were dedicated on making cutting edge technology available for the industry. From that group, Saraiva, Augusto Victoriano and Eduardo Silva (yes, the one from robotics) were part of it. I remember a project, which made the people from Corticeira Amorim very happy, reading the dimensions of a cork with the help of a caliper and then collecting that information using an RS232 door. It was a success.
Now, I would have liked to talk about the history of CAP (Center for Applied Photonics) which in its origins was previously GOE (Optoelectronics group), even coinciding with the history of INESC-Porto itself. Unfortunately, my story is now becoming too large for the space available in BIP. I will then leave that story for another time and take the opportunity to congratulate the protagonists of two recent events.
In the wake of the new board taking office, I would like to congratulate people on their new positions, namely Manuel Ricardo whom I met when he was still immature, just like many others who were still newly graduated, confident in their knowledge and oblivious about their inexperience but also with a great will to do new things. I wish you all the best in your new positions and I hope that you not only won't forget about the values that identify our INESC TEC like the collaboration, sharing of knowledge and support in adversity but also that you pass on these value for the generations to come. This kind of attitudes are especially relevant for a good collaboration environment between different groups, which is essential to overcome adversities caused by the specialisations.
I would also like to congratulate the colleagues who had the initiative to create a workers' council and for that I feel delighted. INESC TEC is nowadays much bigger and also geographically dispersed. Besides that, the labour relations are now also much more complex. These motives support the creation of such council. The main reason why I am so delighted, however, is that this initiative shows that the collaborators of INESC TEC are alive, just like they were in the 80's and 90's when they would gather themselves to study the possibility to create technologically-based enterprises. The seed was planted back then and only much later did we saw its fruit. But all that was part of the germination process.
And if I'm allowed to say, I would like to ask you to work with pleasure and to be happy in your jobs as much as possible. Competing is exciting but helping is enjoyable.
Much love!
* Collaborator at CAP (Centre for Applied Photonics)
