The Regional Government of the Azores honours former Ciências ULisboa professor Luís Manuel Arruda with the Autonomous Insignia of Recognition

Luís Manuel Arruda, former professor in the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa), has been distinguished by the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores with the Autonomous Insignia of Recognition. This is one of the region’s highest honorary distinctions, awarded to individuals or entities whose actions or career contribute to valuing and honouring the Azores at national or international level.

The imposition of the insignia’s collar took place on 25 May, the Day of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, and was carried out by the President of the Regional Government of the Azores. The distinction recognises a career spanning several decades dedicated to education, scientific research and the dissemination of Azorean natural, scientific and cultural heritage.

For Luís M. Arruda, this tribute represents the recognition of a lifetime’s work: “This insignia is highly meaningful to me because it acknowledges my contribution to the study and dissemination of scientific knowledge about the Azores and Azorean culture, and it reinforces the gold municipal merit medal previously awarded to me by the Municipality of Horta for the same reasons,” he says.

A professor at Ciências ULisboa until his retirement in 2008, Luís Arruda combined education, research and scientific outreach throughout his career. In more than 50 years of published writing, he dedicated 10 books to the Azores, contributed to nine other works, authored more than 900 entries in the Azorean Encyclopaedia and surpassed 120 scientific and opinion articles in the regional press.

The path now being recognised, however, began long before his academic career.

Being a native of the Azores, he recalls that, at a time when vocational guidance was practically non‑existent, he hesitated between Biology and Architecture. The desire to return to the archipelago ultimately determined his choice: “Because I intended to return to the Azores after completing my degree, I ended up choosing biology, which would give me access to a position at the local secondary school as a teacher, whereas architecture would not guarantee me work.”

Among the achievements of which he is most proud, Luís M. Arruda highlights the creation of two course units after completing his doctorate, the research projects dedicated to the study of fish species from the Portuguese marine coastline, and the work developed in scientific outreach. The results of his research were published in leading international scientific journals and presented at specialist conferences, including a communication selected for inclusion in the proceedings of the 5th International Congress of Ichthyology.

In the field of scientific dissemination, the former professor
emphasises the publication of the correspondence and scientific work of the Azorean naturalist Francisco de Arruda Furtado, studies on the reception of the theory of evolution in the Azores, and the trilogy Scientific Discovery of the Azores, comprising nearly 2,000 pages devoted to how the islands came to be known — from the perspective of the Earth and life sciences — from the beginning of settlement up to 1985.

Azorean roots were always present throughout Luís M. Arruda’s path. Evoking Vitorino Nemésio’s expression, “The place you depart from is also the place you return to,” the professor explains that it was the concept of açorianidade that defined “the essence of being Azorean” and motivated his interest in studying and disseminating the scientific, natural and cultural heritage of the Azores.

This work began in 1972 with the publication of Contribution to the Speleological Study of Pico Island (Azores), considered pioneering in the scientific understanding of the archipelago. This was followed by the coordination of the Azorean Encyclopaedia, studies on how certain Azorean intellectuals received Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, works dedicated to the toponymy of the city of Horta and, more recently, a book on the artist Rogério Silva.

When asked about the legacy he hopes to leave, Luís Arruda emphasises the importance of bringing science and culture closer together: “As someone trained in the natural sciences, I hope to leave a vision of the unity of culture as a complementary understanding of humankind and its place within nature. I hope readers will find this in my writings.”

To conclude, he leaves a message for the new generations of researchers, both at Ciências ULisboa and in the Azores: “Be honest with the results of your research, with your collaborators and with your colleagues.”