"What you do for yourself, dies with you, when you leave this world. What you do for others, lives on forever."

On e of our best undergraduate students, he went on to do a PhD in Louvain and returned as a Professor. Not only did he excel in teaching, especially in demanding courses such as Statistics and Public Economics, but he also carried out relevant research in the areas of Applied Microeconomics and Labor Markets.
In a School of great teachers and researchers, this is commonplace. What made Manuel an outstanding personality was his dedication and devotion to the School's operations, where he had no peer. A member of successive Governing Boards, he was always responsible for the most intricate, difficult and discreet issues, from the Budget to the School's Accreditations, from international relations to special projects and pre-experience programs. He spent countless nights in his office working.

However, despite the high quality and deep commitment expressed in his work, the most important qualities he possessed were his permanent smile, his attentive silence, his continuous effort to be useful, plug holes and keep the peace.

His unexpected and premature death has left a void at the School that will never be filled. But his memory and example live on in us, all those who lived with him.
In his honor, his wife wanted to establish a scholarship with his name for Master's students at CATÓLICA-LISBON and the Nursing School.

The best student in his degree in Economics at Católica, the best in his degree in Mathematics at the Faculty of Sciences, the best in his PhD at MIT, the best Professor in the highly technical topics where only he ventured. The students recognized him as our high priest of pure economics. But he was also the most faithful, devout and pious member of our Faculty. He was simply the best of us.
Fernando was much more than a Scientist and Professor. He was also a manager and administrator. From the breathless heights of Game Theory, he was able to descend to the mundane matters of academic administration. He was Dean, Vice-Rector, Dean for Faculty, always deeply involved in the political, bureaucratic and economic issues of our complex school life.

Above all, Fernando was a pillar; a compass. He was the one who set the standards, who established the rules, who maintained the guidelines. He knew what the school should be, and he never gave in. The high quality he strove for, whether spiritual, scientific or academic, was always his main motivation. We could always count on him to pull us up, to take us to the demanding heights where he already was.

Because his memory will continue to serve as a great reference point, a group of his Alumni friends wanted to pay tribute to him by sponsoring the Research Seminar Room in his name, on the Faculty floor of the new building of his/our School.