Born in Seville in 1953, José Domínguez Abascal, “Pepón”, was an Industrial Engineer from the University of Seville (1975) and a Doctor of Industrial Engineering from the same University (1977). At the age of 21 he finished his degree in Industrial Engineering, being number one in his class, obtaining his doctorate at the age of 23, with outstanding “cum laude”. He was a researcher at the prestigious Universities of Southampton (UK), where he carried out a large part of his doctoral thesis, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA), as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar during 1977 and as a Research Associate during 1978. Professor at the Polytechnic Universities of Madrid and Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, he joined the then Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineers of the University of Seville as Professor of Structures in 1982. Pepón has been a great person, a great engineer and university professor, who has created the School and who has stood out in all the areas in which a university professor carries out his work: teaching, research, management and knowledge transfer.

He held the position of Vice-Rector of the University of Seville between 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 1998 he was Director of the Center where he began as a professional, the Higher Technical School of Engineering of the University of Seville.

From 2004 to 2008 he was Secretary General of Universities, Research and Technology of the Government of Andalusia, where he promoted high-impact programs, such as the financing of Projects of Excellence, the Talentia scholarships, the creation of Technology Centers, etc. He was Technical General Secretary of Abengoa between 2008 and 2015, and President of this Company from September 2015 to February 2016, a task that he combined with that of part-time Professor at his beloved and always present Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSi) of the University of Seville. In 2016 he rejoined the ETSi as a full-time Professor. During the 2017-2018 academic year he enjoyed a sabbatical year at Harvard University, developing his research work at the Center for International Development at the Kennedy School of Government. In June 2018 he was appointed Secretary of State for Energy of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, a position he held until 2020. Currently, and since June 2022, he was President of Envision Group in Spain, in addition to continuing as Professor of Structures part time at ETSi.

On the other hand, he directed numerous doctoral theses around three interconnected fields: Numerical Methods, Fracture Mechanics and Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction. He was a teacher to many generations of engineers and researchers, creating a school in the field of structural teaching. In his long career as a researcher he participated, among others, in important projects related to the restoration of historical heritage, such as the Giraldillo in Seville or the fountain of the Patio de los Leones in the Alhambra, among others.  

Throughout his long career, he received numerous distinctions, including the “Leonardo Torres Quevedo” National Engineering Research Award, the National Award for Restoration of Cultural Assets, and the FAMA award from the University of Seville for Research Career. He was named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universities of Granada and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He was an active member of the European Academy (Physics and Engineering Section), the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain and the Royal Sevillian Academy of Sciences, as well as a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

His professional merits have been numerous, but, above all, Pepón stood out for his human quality. José Domínguez Abascal was a person highly appreciated and valued by the entire Academic Community of the University of Seville. Rest in peace.