Honoree recognized for outstanding commitment to optics education
WASHINGTON-The Optical Society (OSA) is pleased to name Julio C. Gutiérrez-Vega, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, the recipient of the 2020 Esther Hoffman Beller Medal. Gutiérrez-Vega is recognized for exceptional commitment to optics education through extraordinary academic mentoring and teaching; the development of original, engaging teaching materials and the establishment of a world-class optics graduate program.
"Julio Gutiérrez-Vega's extraordinary efforts to educate and inspire students interested in pursuing careers in optical science and engineering are unparalleled," said 2020 OSA President Stephen D. Fantone, founder and president of the Optikos Corporation. "His deep commitment as a teacher and mentor is to be commended."
Julio Gutiérrez obtained a Ph.D. degree in Optics from the INAOE, Mexico, in 2000. He is currently a professor in the Physics Department at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, México. Gutiérrez has published 103 journal articles that report about 3,700 citations with an h-index of 31. He served on the editorial committees of Optics and Photonics News and Optics Express. He is an OSA Fellow.
His research interests focus mostly on light propagation, laser beam shaping and fractional optics. For more than 20 years, he has taught courses to undergraduate students, including Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Mathematical Methods and Computational Physics. Gutiérrez has been the thesis advisor of eight Ph.D. students, the founding advisor of the OSA Student Chapter at Tecnológico de Monterrey and promoter of a postgraduate program in Optics at Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Established in 1993, the Esther Hoffman Beller Medal is presented for outstanding contributions to education in optical science and engineering. It is endowed by a bequest from the estate of Esther Hoffman Beller.
