It is with deep sadness that we share the loss of our colleague, Dr. José Manuel Menéndez, Professor of the Department of Signals, Systems and Radio-communications of the E.T.S. Ingenieros de Telecomunicación at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).
José Manuel was the founder of the Visual Telecommunications Application Group (GATV), as well as Director from its creation in 2004 until 2019. His research and innovative work in the field of audiovisual technologies resulted in the creation of the Spanish Public Broadcaster RTVE Chair at UPM which he was the Director of since 2015.
José Manuel had extensive experience in participating in and directing research projects, both national and European, on topics related to Visual Communications, Digital Television and Computer Vision. He had published more than 230 papers on these subjects in international journals and conferences, and had been invited to give several lectures both at national and international level. He was the author of 4 granted patents and 8 software registrations.
José Manuel strongly believed in European cooperation. He has been involved in the ECTRI Community from the start, supporting UPM as a founding member of the Association, personally contributing to several activities and bringing several of his team in. He also served as a valued member of the ECTRI Board in 2021-2022.
His academic and human legacy will be remembered as a great example of commitment and professionalism within the transport research community. He will be deeply missed.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.