Curriculum Vitae
José Fernando F. Mendes — Academic Career, Positions & Honors
Current Positions & Leadership
2005 – Present
Full Professor (Professor Catedrático)
Department of Physics, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Teaching and theoretical research in statistical physics, complex networks, percolation theory, and non-equilibrium systems.
2023 – Present
Director of i3N-Aveiro
Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication (Associated Laboratory)
Scientific leadership of the Aveiro branch of the state-associated national research laboratory.
2021 – 2024
President
Complex Systems Society (CSS)
Elected president of the principal worldwide scientific organization dedicated to complex systems research.
Honors, Fellowships & Awards
2020
Senior Prize of the Complex Systems Society
Awarded for seminal contributions to and continuous development of the theory of Complex Networks.
2020
Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS)
Elected by the APS Division of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics for pioneering theoretical insights in network topology and phase transitions.
2019
Fellow of the Network Science Society (NetSci)
Recognized for transformative theoretical foundations shaping modern network science.
Member
Academia Europaea
Elected Member of the Physics & Engineering Sciences Section of the European Academy of Humanities, Letters and Sciences.
2004
Prémio Gulbenkian Ciência
Awarded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for excellence in scientific research in statistical physics and complex networks.
2020
Litoral Awards — "Investigação"
Regional recognition for global scientific impact in physics and complex systems.
Administrative & Institutional Governance
2010 – 2018
Vice-Rector for Research and Doctoral Studies
University of Aveiro
Institutional coordination of university-wide scientific policy, research funding, technological transfer, and doctoral school governance.
2004 – 2010
Head of the Department of Physics
University of Aveiro
Departmental chair overseeing undergraduate and postgraduate physics curricula, research infrastructures, and faculty staffing.
2009 – 2010
Director of the Associated Laboratory I3N
Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication
Executive direction of the multi-institutional national research laboratory.
Education & Academic Training
2002
Habilitation (Agregação) in Physics
Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
1996
Postdoctoral Fellow
Center for Polymer Studies & Department of Physics, Boston University, USA
Postdoctoral research in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics under the supervision of Sidney Redner.
1995
Ph.D. in Physics
Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
Dissertation: Dynamics of spin systems, supervised by Prof. Eduardo J. S. Lage.
1987
B.Sc. (Licenciatura) in Physics
Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
Visiting Professorships & International Stays
Selected Stays
Visiting Researcher & Professor
International Academic Collaborations
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) ·
ETH Zürich (Switzerland) ·
Nanyang Technological University (Complexity Institute, Singapore) ·
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR, Pisa, Italy) ·
Université Henri Poincaré (Nancy, France) ·
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil).
Major Authored Monographs
2022
The Nature of Complex Networks
Oxford University Press, Oxford
Co-authored with S. N. Dorogovtsev. Advanced monograph detailing mathematical models, percolation, and dynamic processes across network topologies.
2021
Weak Multiplex Percolation
Cambridge University Press
Co-authored with G. J. Baxter, R. A. da Costa, and S. N. Dorogovtsev. Cambridge Elements in the Structure and Dynamics of Networks.
2003 / 2014
Evolution of Networks: From Biological Nets to the Internet and WWW
Oxford University Press, Oxford
Co-authored with S. N. Dorogovtsev. Foundational text in network science with thousands of citations worldwide.