Salamanca, Gto., February 11, 2019.- Due to his outstanding performance, José Rafael Guzmán Sepúlveda, a graduate of the Engineering Division of the University of Guanajuato (UG), was awarded the "Graduate student of the year 2017-2018", as a PhD student at the Center for Education and Research in Optics and Photonics (CREOL) of the University of Central Florida (UCF).

Guzmán Sepúlveda graduated of the Mechatronics program in the Engineering Division of Campus Irapuato-Salamanca in 2010 with the best average of his generation; he obtained the recognition "Summa Cum Laude" and his work allowed him to be recognized by the National Association of Faculties and Schools of Engineering (ANFEI) as one of the best engineering students in Mexico.

Dr. David Hagan, Academic Dean of the University of Central Florida (UCF), informed of the recognition given to the Mexican student on January 24. To place the importance of this recognition, CREOL is one of the three best centers that exist in the United States with orientation to optics and photonics and is a leader in that country in terms of the number of patents in these areas.

Guzmán Sepúlveda is the author of a book chapter published in Springer; he has released more than 25 articles in Journal Citation Report (JCR) with the highest impact factor, including one in the journal "Nature Biomedical Engineering"; he has presented more than 30 papers in international scientific conferences; and has more than 150 appointments. His field of work covers different disciplines like digital processing of medical images, devices and optical fiber sensors; as well as the optical sensing of complex dynamic systems, such as colloidal systems, non-ergodic media and biological fluids.

His work is the result of interdepartmental cooperation at UCF; industrial collaborations with Malvern; joint work with Arnold Palmer Pediatric Hospital in Orlando; as well as collaborations involving Mexican education institutions supported by CONACYT, including the University of Guanajuato, the Centre for Research in Optics (CIO, Aguascalientes unit), and the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE, Photonic Group).

The outstanding graduate currently holds 2 masters, one in electronic engineering from the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas and another in optics by CREOL-UCF and is a PhD candidate in the optics program at CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, under the Supervision of Dr. Aristide Dogariu.