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Fernando José Cebola Lidon
Curriculum Vitae
Lisboa2014
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1.Research and Teaching Statement 4
1.1.Research Interests 4
Personal information
Name Fernando José Cebola LidonAddress Rua Vasco de Lima Couto 23, Quinta da Morgadinha,
2815-253 Charneca da Caparica, PortugalTelephone(s)
Mobil Phone00351-212948573; 00351-212948573 – ext. 10210; 965146855
Fax 00351-212948573E-mail [email protected]
Nationality PortugueseDate of birth 10/09/1957
Gender Male
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1.2.Teaching Interests 61.3.The Future: Synergistic Research and Teaching 9
2. School Career and Academic Degrees 10
3. Professional Experience 10
3.1. Positions Held 103.2. Teaching Experience 113.3. Promotion and Creation of Teaching Protocols 133.4. Criation of New Courses 153.5. Scientific Supervisions 15
3.6. Participation in Academic Examinations 21
3.6.1. Evaluation of Ph D Thesis 21
3.6.2. Evaluation of Master of Science Thesis 21
3.6.3. Evaluation of Graduation Thesis 24
3.7. Integration in Commissions and Councils 25
3.8. Integration in Panels to Sellect Grants Applications 26
4. Scientific Activities 27
4.1. Research Projects 274.2. Creation / Organization of a National Scientific Society / Research Journal / Discussion Forum 334.3. Meetings Organization / Coordination 344.4. Review of Scientific Publications 354.5. Evaluation of International Projects 374.6. Participation in Scientific Meetings 374.7. Curriculum Sions and Awards 40
4.8. Publications 41
4.8.1. Books 41
4.8.2. Thesis 41
4.8.3. International papers 42
4.8.4. National papers 52
4.8.5. Internet Publications 55
4.8.6. Communications 56
1.Research and Teaching Statement1.1.Research Interests
Time dynamics, through professional experience development, modulates each one's perspective about scientific
research. In this context, during my 24 years of research work, I became increasingly convinced that in the course of
building anything there are unexpected hurdles, but it also is in the solutions to practical problems that the best research
topics can be found. Through time I have been connected to a research core centered on phytotechnology attached to food production, mainly focusing nutrients accumulation and kinetics of the oxidative burst, progressively linked on the
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underpinnings of individual and organizational uses of technology. At a national level, between 1991-2002, my research
activities (relating nutritional stresses to biomass production) remained mostly connected to interdisciplinary projects and
joined to research institutions and associations of cereals producers (projects 1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6 and 21). By 1995, international
research protocols, connecting Brazilian and Portuguese researchers, were also implemented, which allowed my research
to continue with the ecophysiologycal / metabolic expression of genotypes (projects about coffee - 21; 14, 15 and 17).
Since 2001, after the preliminary project Valorisation of the quality of the certified products from Norte Alentejo (1996-
2000), in a close connection to specific agroindustries, my research projects further centered in the quality definition and safety of vegetable food products (projects 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13) and preservation / processing of vegetable raw material focused on biochemical traits (projects 16, 18 and 19). Still, at an international level my research work adopted a similar
organization pattern, considering, by 1999-2005, metals toxicity in plant products and raw materials quality, to develop
phytoremediation solutions to specific issues in the cereal fields of Portugal and Bulgaria (projects 1, 2 and 4), and other
stress factors linked to the seriation of genotypes (projects 3 and 5). Now-a-days all these issues are still being studied in
the framework of Cost Actions FA 0905 / Mineral-improved Crop Production for Healthy Food and Feed – domain Food and Agriculture and FA 0906 / UV-B radiation: A Specific Regulator of Plant Growth and Food Quality in a Changing Climate.
Innovation must be the background of research, followed by diffusion of good ideas throughout scientific
publications, industry disclosure and supporting organizations seeking to become more sustainable. Yet, during each of my
research projects I found that some problems can be interpreted as trivial details, while others are cause for some pause /
wait, questioning if there is something more fundamental. According to my perspective, fundamentals rise, namely in:
where did that problem really come from? What similar problems are likely to arise in other contexts? This solution works,
but is there something a lot more interesting lurking beneath the surface? Virtually, during all my research every paper I've
written has grown out of such questions. In this background, in the beginning of my research on nutrients accumulation kinetics, the characterization of persistent biomass yields and protein accumulation until the threshold of Cu toxicity, rose
questions about the implications on photoassimilates mobilization, becoming the structural alterations of the photosynthetic
apparatus the following inquiry, whereas the synthesis of phytochelatins was achieved to find out how that metal was
immobilized, in parallel with the blockage of reactive oxygen burst (see papers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15;
16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 35, 38, and 61). The expansion of the developed knowledge thereafter conducted to the
study of the action mode of: Al on biomass production, now considering the synergist / antagonist interactions for micro-
and macro-elements uptake and translocation, protein accumulation and concurrent implications on the inhibition of
bioenergetics (see papers 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 39, 40 and 45); Mn on biomass production and ultrastructural changes,
implicating nutrients accumulation and crop quality, whereas Mn-protein synthesis was characterized to identify persistant
control mechanisms of the photosynthetic performance connecting the oxidative burst (see papers 37, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49,
50, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 65); Cd, about the interaction fo the photosynthetic performance and protein accumulation (see
papers 59, 60, 62, 63 and 97); Zn, on the photosynthetic functioning (see paper 99). With the expansion of my research to
stress factors envisaging yield and quality factors, similar but more detailed questions were screened for: water deficit, also
to address the bioenergetic processing (see papers 20, 21, 28, 29, 31, 48, 64, 66 and 69); low temperatures, to
characterize photoinhibition processes (see papers 53, 54, 76 and 82); high temperatures, to assess thermotolerance,
ultrastructural changes and implications on grain filling (see papers 73, 74; 75, 77, 78, 79, 80 and 81); UV-B irradiation, to
attain for the impact of oxidative burst on bionergetics control (see papers 88, 89 and 90). The subsequent deepening of
my research in raw material of vegetable origin for food processing, took me to physicochemical monitoring coupled, or not,
to the development of technical strategies to increase the postharvest shelf-life, considering the oxidative burst in quality decay (see papers 36, 41, 42, 51, 52, 67, 70, 71, 72, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92, 93, 95, 98, 100 and 103). At the end of
most of the research projects data was presented in national and international scientific meetings and synopsis publicated
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in international / national review papers (see papers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and 6; 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9) and in two
technical books (see 3 and 7)
I consider sustainability a potential solution for problems facing society, offering into the foreseeable future a way
of looking, on both large and small scales, to meet the needs and aspirations of its stakeholders with minor net negative
impacts. In this context, I have long accepted that key challenges joins research and education to best develop and teach
new ways of thinking involved in problem solving, thus to make problem solvers aware of the broad spectrum of available
sustainable science / technologies and practices. This perspective complied with my option, as a mentor, for a continue
integration of students, according with their different levels of education / training, in interdisciplinary national or
international teams, either to collaborate in scientific design and / or implementation, either to optimize technical
competences. In this background, my research projects included students, in the frame of the: program “Ciência Viva” (two
students in 1998-2000); Laboratory technical training (one student in 1997-1999); Graduation tirocinium (22 students – one
on Biochemistry, between 1997-1998; 21 on Food Technology and Safety, between 2004-2008); Post-Graduation supervisium (five students – one on Biochemistry, between 1988-2000; four on Chemistry, between 1997-2005); Master of Science tirocinium (36 students on Food Technology/Quality – five before Bologne Protocol, between 2002-2007; 31 after
Bologne Protocol, since 2005); Ph D tirocinium (8 students - directly responsible for 3, since 1998; timely collaboration
without direct responsibility for 4, between 1994-2008; one from the Agricultural University of Plovdiv / Bulgaria, in the
framework of the Socrates / Erasmus Program in 2004); Post Ph D supervision (since 1999, one national student and four
foreign students from Bulgaria and Slovenia).
To make a better use of existing resources and maximize progress and return on efforts investment, over the
short and long term, I also recognized that implementation supported in the best possible of today’s science / technologies
must be achieved. Thus, as the times went by, in 2001-2002, I found the need of creating the Associação Portuguesa de Biologia Vegetal e Agro-Industrial (recognized in the Portuguese Legislation - D.R. – III Series nº 95 of 23 April), which
integrated research teams from 14 University / Polytechnic Institutions, aiming to warrant a sustainable promotion of
Science and Technology, at international and national levels, namely through projects development, scientific journals
creation / promotion and scientific / technological meetings organization. Under my coordination (2002-2005): this
organization created and published the Journal of Plant Biology and Agroindustry (volumes 1 and 2, spreading scientific
works coordinated by different Portuguese teams); maintained a Blog and Internet site of Plant Biology and Agro-Industry (to keep a provocative scientific discussion forum at a national level); promoted 10 national and international meetings at
different institutions (to spread specific research topics).
As a general glance, adopting a positivist approach, the scope of my research specific thrusts will continue to be
largely shaped by my professional experiences on food phytotechnology and will focus on topics that grow out of
implementation problem solving grounded in reality. It will include: holistic sustainable projects implementation and management that incorporate theoretical principles, identify cost drivers (considering effective mechanisms for overcoming
real or perceived barriers to innovation) and apply brand new technical methods; diffusion of innovation in the industry,
particularly diffusion of sustainability concepts through project- and program-based organizations and across capital project
teams; research domain mapping, including methods for identifying and prioritizing research opportunities and
construction / integration of / in research domain networks. For these reasons at a national level I will continue to built
research protocols with the food industry (in 2011, I implemented five protocols for development of projects by students -
UNICER – Bebidas S.A., Fabridoce – Doces Regionais, Frubaça – Cooperativa de hortofruticultores CRL, Socimbal - Sociedade Industrial de Alimentos, Lda; and Nova Delta – Comércio e indústria de cafés, SA) and two others with research
institutions (since a long time established with the Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biológicos and ECO-BIO / Centro de Ecofisiologia, Bioquímica e Biotecnologia do Instituto de Investigação Científica e Tropical), which allow the maintenance of
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interdisciplinary research teams to develop projects heading for raw materials of vegetable origin. Moreover, at a international level, I still will continue to favor my integration and work in scientific networks management that aim to
develop and apply food phytotechnology systems (after integration in COST Action 859, groups 1 and 3 between 2004-
2009, until 2014 I will be the Portuguese representative research member of the management committees of COST Actions FA0905 and FA0906). Additionally, since I am integrating the Editorial Board of 4 scientific journals (each one indexed to
more than 80 publication sources) of the Scholar Journals Editors, I will keep on the development of links between
publication and central research, following two major guiding lines: how can food phytotechnologies deliver better products
and services to meet human needs and aspirations with fewer resources and negative impact? What kinds of motivations
can organizations use to trigger group interactions and collaboration as well as the use of trusty (i.e., sustainable) food
phytotechnologies? In this context, regardless of the specific topic, I always will favor the validation of theory against reality.
Of course there is a cost to addressing every detail needed for an implementation, but my experience has been that full
implementations are rarely a waste of time.
1.2.Teaching Interests
I deem that being a good teacher is a lifelong process, which involves not only implementing better teaching
techniques, but also sometimes stepping out of comfort zones. Under that background, I find research and education
complementary activities: practicing either strengthens the other, for both are about simplifying complex phenomena into
basic, easy-to-understand underlying concepts. Assuming that perspective, at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, my carrier can be divided in two main phases, a dominant teaching of basic plant science to
graduation students, in most cases of the first and third academic years (between 1988-2002, Botany and Photosynthesis and Primary Production, Graduation courses of Environmental Engineering and Applied Chemistry), followed by an
ascendant specialized teaching mostly attached on technology attached to food production / processing systems in subject
areas belonging to Masters of Science (National, Pan-European and International) and Ph D courses (since 2002,
Ecosystems and Bioenergy, Material and Energy Balances of Biomass Production, General Ecology Methods, Food Technology, Food Preservation, Nutrition, Advanced Food Technology). In parallel, between 1988-2008, my teaching skills
were reinforced in the COFAC / Lusófona University Group – Almeida Garrett School of Education, Lisboa. In the first teaching phase, my practical / laboratory teaching was linked to applied research on plant mineral nutrition, further
considering ecophysiologycal parameters and plant anatomy. My second teaching phase become, thereafter, a natural
development of my gained specialization about phytotechnology, linking ecosystems functioning and balances of biomass
production, to applied research on stressed (nutritional and thermal) physiological modulation, to increase quality and yield.
As a corollary, my attained specialization on quality and yield of plant raw materials took me into the teaching at a food industrial scale / level, coupled to a research focused to develop / solve physiological problems connected to food
phytotechnology (i.e., raw material, mostly fruits and grains, that now-a-days at an international scale follows to food biofortification).
My primary teaching goal has been to turn students into critical thinkers capable of challenging their own views
and listening to the views of others. A key element in achieving these goals is, to cultivate students who can effectively
implement sustainability concepts in problem solving and professional practice. Toward that end, considering expertise´s
specificity and topics versatility, as well as the importance of outreach linked to students empathy, my teaching, through
times, is being increasingly focused on: providing experiential learning environments for creative problem solving;
demonstrating structured yet generalizable processes and systematic documentation of solutions and their evolution;
teaching cross-cutting analytical methods that leverages content from other courses; providing opportunities and guidance
for interaction with real world stakeholders; providing formal instruction on working with teams, communication, and product
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/ model development skills. To develop these technical competences in the students, in the didactic units Botany and
Photosynthesis and Primary Production, I coordinated the publication (being co-author) of two tutorial didactic books
(Anatomia e Morfologia Externa de Plantas Superiores / Higher Plants Anatomy and External Morphology /in 2001/ and
Plantas de Portugal – Evolução e Taxonomia / Portuguese Plants / Evolution and Taxonomy /in 2004). Additionally, in
2004, facing interdisciplinary, two more tutorial e-learning publications (Biomass Production – Energetic and environmental balances of biomass production. Module 1.5 and Environment – General Ecology: methods. Module 5.3) were produced for
the didactic units Ecosystems and Bioenergy, Material and Energy Balances of Biomass Production, General Ecology Methods. Finally, between 2007-2010, for the didactic units Food Technology, Food Preservation and Nutrition, under my
coordination (being co-author) three other didactic books were publicised (Indústrias Alimentares – Aditivos e Tecnologias / Food Industry – Additives and Technologies, Conservação de Alimentos – Princípios e Metodologias / Food Preservation – Principles and Methodologies, Princípios de Nutrição e Alimentação Humana / Principles of Human Nutrition and Food).
Considering the different teaching levels, to provide experiential learning, in most of the practical component of the didactic
units, the students were / are encouraged to collaborate / integrate research teams to develop projects in the didactic units
of: Botany and Photosynthesis and Primary Production - cross-cutting analytical methods were teach (that resulted in the
publication of two international papers in 2001 – 53 and 54); Energy Balances of Biomass Production and General Ecology Methods - providing opportunities to contact real world stakeholders, to develop theoretical and applied concepts on
biomass production and alternatives energies development at an industrial level (2003-20010); Food Technology, Food Preservation, Food Industries, Advanced Food Technology – to apply sustainability concepts in new food products
development (since 2001), constructing potential ideas to solve identified problems in the production lines of specific food
industries and associated laboratories (that teaching strategy allowed a direct entrance to specific food industries of 21
students for undergraduation stages /2004-2008/, 15 students for Master of Science stages (2006-2011), 2 students for
doctoral stages); Nutrition I and II – to develop food menus, considering prophylactic and / or prevention aspects of specific
human diseases (since 2008). Following my coordination of the practical component of the didactic units (since 2004), to
ensure clarification and strengthening ideas through verbal modes, all the works developed by the students are / were
published in my institutional website (until 2011 in http://www.fct.unl.pt/dctb/fjl) and submitted to a public presentation and
discussion.
Given that sustainability is an emerging field — influenced by technical change as well as economic and social
drivers — in all my teaching classes it has been my deep judge that students need to be prepared to deal with disruptive
innovations, information-driven products and services, and the resultant business models that emerge from these changes.
Thus, across the different levels, the following general emphases were / are incorporated: innovative projects that act as provokers of thought (in addition to providing a framework for learning techniques for specific problem solving, the framing
of design problem can in itself promote reflective and creative thinking); emphasis on developing and sustaining a critical / conceptual basis (it has increasingly been my belief that science / technology incorporates as much a construct and
manifestation of ideas to solve a problem at hand); emphasis on examining what the experiential implications are for conceptual ideas (vacant formalism results from a lack of consideration of the experiential implications of conceptual
notions); clarification and strengthening ideas through verbal modes (as reading and writing, followed by collective
discussions, are necessary ways of cultivating, introducing ideas that have fueled produced work and sets theory in the
context of practice, allowing the clarification of one’s own thought processes). Recognizing that every student is different
and that learning objectives vary by subject and specialization, I further have come to develop national and foreign courses
that focus a combination of theory and practice about food phytotechnology, foster creativity and require collaborative
activities, to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills. As I work my way through these courses, I consider basic
and applied research approaches to each of the following topics: organization theory, cognitive issues (information
processing, perceptions, motivation), communications, problem solving, individual creativity and organizational innovation
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and change. Following that surroundings I: had /have two Sócrates Program / ERASMUS Teaching (Subject area code –
13.1 with the Agricultural University of Plovdiv / Bulgaria (for Graduation and Ph D, 2003-2007) and Sabanci University / Istambul / Turkey (For Master of Science and Ph D, 2011-2014); following an invitation of the Directive Councel, created
the Training Course for 2nd School Teachers in the COFAC / Lusófona University Group – Almeida Garrett School of Education (2000); built teaching protocols with food industries (in 2011 - UNICER – Bebidas S.A., Fabridoce – Doces Regionais, Frubaça – Cooperativa de hortofruticultores CRL, Socimbal - Sociedade Industrial de Alimentos, Lda; and Nova Delta – Comércio e indústria de cafés, SA).
It was, and still is, my judge that opportunities to work in practical aspects of science and technology in various
ways help students in deepening their understanding of it, yet motivation is required. In this outline my assignments
combine(d) theoretical and practical problems with information spread up, either data-intensive or article-based. Following
this perspective, as a chairman of the Portuguese journal of Plant Biology and Agro-Industry (2003-2005), I invited my
students of the practical component of the didactic units Energy Balances of Biomass Production and General Ecology Methods, having the best projects developed about applied concepts on phytotechnology, to publish and orally present
their works also in scientific meetings organized by the Portuguese Association of Plant Biology and Agro Industry.
Currently, as a member of the editorial board of the Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, Journal of Experimental Sciences, International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, International Journal of Recent Scientific Research and Journal of Phytology, this purpose for publication, is still being pursuit in the didactic units Food Technology, Food Preservation, Food Industries, Advanced Food Technology. The aim of these activities has been to emphasize, in all of my courses, the
need to recognize real data, namely to: understand the sources and types of technology and service innovations; identify the bidirectional connections between the professional environment, strategy, and technical change; analyze and forecast changes in technical solutions that underlie sustainable systems; develop high-level strategic responses to changes in the
professional environment. Indeed, the progressive development of these thinkings, in 2007 justified, as coordenator of the
“Editorial Board” of volume 1, the creation and my educational publications in the national journal Cadernos de Investigação Aplicada (papers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6).
1.3.The Future: Synergistic Research and Teaching
Science and Technology are tremendously dynamic, rapidly advancing fields, and the amount of material that students are
expected to absorb grows each day. To deal with this exponentially swelling problem, I spend more time deciding what not
to teach, than what to teach and, in addition, I am striving to engage students more and more in knowledge creation. I
believe that students should do science, in addition to reading or hearing about it. Students must actively collect and
analyze scientific evidence and must also follow up with the communication of their results. Indeed, one of the most exciting
opportunities in science is the potential to incorporate cutting-edge research findings into the learning process, while at the
same time using the learning process as a mechanism to supply data, experience, ideas, and solutions for basic and
applied research in its own right. Thus, my ultimate goal will continue to be the development of a wholly integrated process
that combines research on food phytotechnology with education to generate a self-sustaining, continuously evolving cycle
of solutions and educated stakeholders to implement them. In this context my regency, namely of the course of Food
Phytotechnology / Fitotecnologia Alimentar in the Ph D course on Food Quality / Qualidade Alimentar, will pursuit these
goals in a close link with my national / international research and participation in the Management Committees as a
Portuguese representative member, of the COST Actions FA0905 and FA0906.
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2. School Career and Academic Degrees
3. Professional Experience
3.1. Positions Held
1979-1984 - Graduation in Biology and Geology (University of Évora , Portugal).
1981-1982 - Superior Course of Archaeology (1st year, University of Évora / Portugal).
1985-1989 - Graduation in Biochemistry (Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal).
1992 – Educational and Scientific Capacity Evaluation / M. Sc. equivalence in Biology / Scientific area – Plant Biology (Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, Portugal).
1994 - Ph D – General Scientific Area “Biology”; Specific Subject “Plant Biochemistry” (Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, Portugal).
1998 - Ph D – Plant Biochemistry (ECE, Milwaukee / Wisconsin, USA).
2013 – Aggregation – Biology (University of Évora / Portugal)
1982-1983 - Monitor - .University of Évora, Department of Biology, Portugal.
1983-1990 – Teacher of the 3rd Cycle of Basic Education (Biology Group):1983/1984 – “Escola Secundária Gabriel Pereira”, Évora, Portugal
(Professional Training Year); 1984/1985 – “Escola Secundária Luís de Camões”, Lisbon, Portugal
(Aggregate Teacher);1985/1986 – “Escola Secundária nº 1 de Beja”, Beja, Portugal
(Effective Teacher); 1986-1990 – “Escola Secundária Fernão Mendes Pinto”, Almada, Portugal
(Effective Teacher).
1996 - Coordenator Professor, Experimental Biology Sector – Training Center for Teachers - Arrábida, Setúbal, Portugal.
1988-Current - Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, Portugal:
1988-1990 - Monitor (Plant Biology Unit);1990-1992 - Assistant Trainee (Plant Biology Unit);1992-1994 - Assistant (Plant Biology Unit);1994-2001 - Assistant Professor (Plant Biology Unit); 2001-2011 - Assistant Professor and Scientific Researcher (Ecology
Aquatic Group and UBiA - Environmental Biotechnology Researching Unit)
2011 - Assistant Professor and Scientific Researcher (Department of Sciences and Technology of Biomass and UBIA – Environmental Biotechnology Researching Unit).
2012 – Associated Professor and Scientific Researcher (Department of Sciences and Technology of Biomass and UBIA – Environmental Biotechnology Researching Unit).
2013 – Associated Professor with Aggregation and Scientific Researcher (Department of Earth Sciences and CiCege – Research Center in Geology and Agro-Forestry Science and Engeniering).
1998-2008 - Coordenator Professor (Natural Sciences Department).- COFAC / Lusófona University Group – Almeida Garrett School of Education, Portugal.
2004-2005 - “Erasmus Professor” under the bilateral agreement “Socrates Program”.
- Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgária.
2011-Current - “Erasmus Professor” under the bilateral agreement “Socrates Program”.- Sabanci University, Istambul, Turkey.
2012-Current - “Erasmus Professor” under the bilateral agreement “Socrates Program”.
- University of Western Greece , Agrinio, Greece.
2014-Current - “Erasmus Professor” under the bilateral agreement “Socrates Program”.
- Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria
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Fernando José Cebola Lidon, May 2012