José Ignacio Rojas Sola

José Ignacio Rojas-Sola is Full Professor of Engineering Graphics at the University of Jaén, Spain, within the Department of Engineering Graphics, Design and Projects. Since 1995 he has led the research group “Engineering Graphics and Industrial Archaeology” and between 1999 and 2008 served as Director for Western Europe of the International Society for Geometry and Graphics.

He obtained his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the National University of Distance Education (UNED) in 1995 with a thesis on the historical-technological study of olive-oil presses, under the supervision of Dr Miguel Ángel Sebastián Pérez.

His research interests embrace engineering graphics applied to cultural and industrial heritage, vernacular architecture, industrial archaeology, history of technology, computer-aided design & engineering, and computer animation. He combines advanced 3D digitisation, geometric modelling, finite-element analysis and virtual reconstruction to document and disseminate historical technical artefacts ranging from 19th-century steam engines to olive-oil presses and wind machines.

Across the last three years his publications centre on Henry Muncaster’s steam engine designs, 3D digital restitution of industrial heritage, and the development of CAD/CATIA tools for engineering education. These works consistently integrate rigorous mechanical analysis with high-fidelity 3D visualisation, illustrating a methodological trend toward multidisciplinary heritage engineering.

Among his distinctions, he has been awarded the Honor Medal of the Industrial Engineers Association of Eastern Andalusia.

As principal investigator he has led numerous competitive projects funded by Spanish and European agencies, acted as expert evaluator for the Spanish Ministry of Science and the Italian Ministry of Education, and served on the editorial boards of several JCR-indexed journals. He has supervised 11 doctoral theses and served on scientific, steering and programme committees of over 100 international conferences.

Prof. Rojas-Sola’s group maintains active laboratories for 3D scanning, CAD/CAE development and immersive virtual reality, fostering collaboration with cultural institutions for the preservation and public dissemination of technical heritage.