We would like to echo the moving publication "In Memoriam Emilio Gómez González" written by his colleagues Consuelo Bellver-Cebreros (University Professor. Department of Applied Physics III) and Marcelo Rodríguez-Danta (University Professor, retired) in the Spanish journal specializing in optics and photonics Óptica Pura y Aplicada .

We miss you, Emilio.

Pure and Applied Optics: In Memoriam Emilio Gómez González

"The unexpected and premature death on January 21st of Professor Emilio Gómez González has plunged the academic community of the Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSi) of the University of Seville , where he had been a professor since 2016; He successfully combined research and teaching, as evidenced by his extensive curriculum vitae (leading dozens of projects, research contracts and training new researchers), as well as by his profound humanity and personal sensitivity, recognized and appreciated by all those who had the opportunity and privilege of knowing him and, at some stage of his training, collaborating with him.

Born into a Sevillian family of teachers in the Arts and Humanities, Emilio earned his degree in Physical Sciences from the University of Seville (1991). He completed three-month predoctoral research stays at Northwestern University in Chicago and at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich.

Having obtained his PhD (1996) within the Applied Physics Program and with a teaching contract in force at the ETSi , he followed a short period of time until 2000, the year in which he obtained a position as Full Professor, with frequent changes in his line of research: fluid mechanics, sports physics, medical diagnostics, etc. In 2001 he founded, and directed, the “Interdisciplinary Physics Research Group” (GFI) , whose lines of research focus on applications of Physics, in general, and of Optics and Photonics, in particular, combined with Artificial Intelligence, in various medical areas (Neuroscience, Neurophotonics, Ophthalmology, etc.).

It seems clear that great masters of painting, Velázquez among them, used, to a greater or lesser extent, the optical instruments of their time—precursors to modern photographic equipment—to obtain flat projections of images reflected by a mirror or refracted by a lens. It is therefore understandable that, from childhood, Emilio lived surrounded by high-quality cameras, essential to the profession of his father, Professor Gómez Piñol, Chair of Art History at the University of Seville.

This passion for the image and its processing was a constant in his academic career and some of this knowledge is collected in his book "Guide to knowing digital photography cameras" and his photographs selected for exhibitions (FOTCIENCIA of FECYT and CSIC, 2017) or awarded in international scientific photography competitions ("Honorable Mention" of the "Photo Contest 2017", of the "Optical Society of America").

He was also a researcher with the Applied Neuroscience Group at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS) and collaborated with various public and private institutions, such as the "Virgen del Rocío" and "Virgen Macarena" University Hospitals in Seville , the TEDAX-NRBQ Group of the National Police Corps , the Calar Alto Observatory Astronomical Center in Almería , the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)-CSIC in Granada, the Andalusian Network for the Design and Translation of Advanced Therapies, the HUMAINT project of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, and others. He contributed and applied innovative and pioneering technologies, both nationally and internationally, in surgical interventions and in the design of non-invasive diagnostic equipment in neurosurgery, fetal surgery, and other medical specialties. His notable designs include: a portable intelligent operating room (QIP); a surgical helmet microscope; FibroTC and DEMILI systems, as well as various computer programs and other systems to aid in the diagnosis of serious diseases (liver pathologies, multiple sclerosis, etc.)

In short, he worked extensively in many fields; suffice it to mention a few: “ Neuroscience and Intraoperative Neurophotonics” (Epilepsy Project), “Computer-Aided Diagnosis in Hepatology and Neurology” (LITMUS and BOC Projects), “Biomechanics and Hydrodynamics of Hydrocephalus and Related Pathologies” (FUSCLEAN Project), “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Health. Technologies and Social Impact” (HUMAINT Project) and the recent “Optical Techniques for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Viruses” (C-CLEAN Project), in which he led a multidisciplinary team from eleven Spanish institutions, with the support of the European Commission.

This immense research effort is supported by numerous patents, publications in indexed journals (especially in the field of health sciences), and a large number of presentations at conferences. Evaluating, with any degree of scientific rigor, the research carried out by Emilio in the health sciences is beyond our personal expertise, so we refer, in recognition of his achievements, to the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Seville, which, in 2018, elected him an Active Corresponding Member for “his research, studies, and publications .” In 2019, he was also named an Honorary Member of the Charlemagne Scientific Institution of Málaga .

He received numerous awards and decorations, among which we highlight the most recent: the Police Merit Cross with White Distinction (2020) for his scientific collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior on the aforementioned C-CLEAN project. Emilio has passed away; only one consolation remains: “A life well lived is a long life .” He leaves behind many achievements in the field of applied sciences, but he has also left a large group of collaborators and students who will surely continue and expand the technologies he pioneered. But above all, Emilio leaves us an example of fortitude and the indelible memory of his great character. May he rest in peace.

 

C. Bellver-Cebreros (University Professor. Department of Applied Physics III)
M. Rodríguez-Danta (University Professor, retired)