Founder of the first Communication course in the country and of the Department of Social Communication (now Communication Science) of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (FCSH) of the NOVA University Lisbon, of which he was coordinator from 1979 to 1986.
His main research interests were communication theory, pragmatics, discursive interaction and conversation analysis. Full Professor since 1980 and Director of NOVA FCSH from 1988 to 1993, he became Professor Emeritus when he retired in 2012.
In December 2015, a book in his honour was published – “Communication and languages: New Convergences, organised by Professors Francisco Rui Cádima and João Sàágua, current Rector of the University – a work that takes up his last lesson entitled “On the rules of sociability”.
He was also President of the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and Vice-Rector of NOVA. He has published numerous articles in Portugal and abroad and is a member of the editorial board of several national and international magazines.