The Seville City Council presents the City of Seville Medal to the family of Emilio Gómez González

The Seville City Council presented awards yesterday on the occasion of Saint Ferdinand's Day in gratitude for the work of individuals and entities that have contributed to the coexistence and progress of the city in different areas. 

The family of Emilio Gómez González, Professor at the Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), received this award posthumously in recognition of his life and work. Professor Gómez González held a doctorate in Physics and was Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Seville, where he founded the Interdisciplinary Physics Group (GFI) in 2001 and led it until his death. His research focused on the design, development, and implementation of optical and neurophotonic technologies for non-invasive, image-guided surgery in neurosurgery and fetal surgery; diagnostic support systems and personalized medicine in hepatology, radiology, neurology, and other medical fields; and optical architectures for augmented reality and 2D and 3D visualization. In response to the global pandemic, Professor Gómez González dedicated significant effort to researching and developing technology to detect COVID-19 on surfaces. This led to him being awarded the Police Merit Cross with White Distinction at the request of the National Police's TEDAX-NRBQ Group. For over twenty years, he collaborated with the Andalusian Health Service on pioneering, high-tech research projects. Simultaneously, he collaborated with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) HUMAINT Project, investigating the social aspects of Artificial Intelligence-based technologies in the healthcare sector. Among his numerous publications in scientific journals, those related to 'Applied Optics and Photonics' and 'Plasma Ball' stand out, as well as his guide to digital cameras, which has been widely used by photography professionals transitioning from analog to digital.

Tribute from the Academic Community

What is light for? A tribute to Emilio Gómez González was an event in remembrance and recognition of the professor who sadly passed away in January 2023, in which his colleagues, his research group, family and friends participated. 

The ceremony, presided over by the Rector of the University of Seville, Miguel Ángel Castro Arroyo, and attended by the Director of the ETSi, Andrés Sáez Pérez, was held the day before the posthumous presentation of the City of Seville Medal to his family by the Seville City Council. 

The tribute included the participation of Mª Isabel Gómez González, Emilio's sister, to recall his student days and the family's perspective; Consuelo Bellver Cebreros, professor and co-director of his doctoral thesis; Antonio González Fernández, director of the Department of Applied Physics III at the University of Seville and Emilio's colleague; Javier Márquez Rivas, neurosurgeon and Emilio's collaborator on his research team; and Emilia Gómez Gutiérrez, a researcher with the City of Seville medal, as a former student and recent collaborator.