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Pio Caroni (Bellinzona, 1938) is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Bern (Switzerland), of which he was president. He has been described as one of the most outstanding and influential world figures in legal history. The UC3M Department of Criminal Law, Procedural Law and Law History sponsored his appointment as a new honorary doctor of this University.

“Pio Caroni has taught us to transcend the mere archaeological and scholarly dimension of the legal historian’s work, recovering the essential function that he is called to perform as an unveiler of the keys to understanding the different legal systems,” highlighted Professor Manuel Bermejo, from the UC3M Department of Criminal Law, Procedural Law and Law History, in his laudation. “His interest lies not in the simple recovery of lost or forgotten sources or in the construction of dogmas, but in the fact that he has always been willing to explore inhospitable or unpredictable ways with  bold eagerness to penetrate the most intimate heart, the social and political background, which beats behind legal phenomena, and which is why,” he concluded, “his stances are always compelling.”

José Antonio Martín Pereda (Madrid, 1943), a constituent academic of the Royal Academy of Engineering, was until his recent retirement a tenured professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and is considered a pioneer of research on photonics in Spain. The Departments of Electronic Technology and Signal Theory and Communications sponsored his appointment.

“Professor Martín Pereda is a pioneer to whom those of us who dedicate ourselves to photonics in this country,  especially in engineering schools, owe much , […], creating a school with multiple disciples who have gone a long way in this field, thanks to his first steps,” affirmed Professor Carmen Vázquez, from the Department of Electronic Technology, in her laudation. “He was the first Spanish international representative in the field of optical communications, and was a pioneer in the applications of liquid crystals in photonic devices, and the first to bring these subjects into formal education at Spanish universities.” He has also played a prominent role in promoting Spanish participation in European Union programs in the area of technologies of production and communications, and participation in the first evaluative panels in the field of engineering in the European Research Council.  Vázquez also cited his role as director of the National Agency of Evaluation and Future Planning and promoter of the first unit of studies on technological future planning, in addition to his ability to combine art and science in his teachings and research.