Edition 2016

International Optometrist of the Year Award 2016

On September 28, as part of the opening of the 2016-2017 academic year, the Faculty of Optics and Optometry of Terrassa awarded Professor José Manuel González-Méijome from the University of Minho (Portugal) the International Optometrist of the Year Award, 2016 edition. This award is granted annually to an optometrist who has excelled in academic, research, and social contributions.

During the ceremony, held at the monumental complex of the Sant Pere churches in Terrassa, one of the jewels of Romanesque architecture (9th–12th century), Professor González-Méijome delivered a lecture titled "Unlikely Optometrist". He described his improbable decision to pursue optometry and his extensive, sometimes amusing professional journey. He also shared a set of advice and aphorisms for students, encouraging them to work diligently, enthusiastically, and fearlessly to become top professionals in visual health care.

The International Optometrist of the Year Award was presented to Professor José Manuel González-Méijome by the Dean of the Faculty, Joan Gispets, the President of the Official College of Optometrists of Catalonia, Alfons Bielsa, and the President of ACOTV, Roser Villena.

José Manuel González-Méijome

Diploma in Optics and Optometry from the University of Santiago de Compostela, PhD in Sciences from the University of Minho.

Associate Professor, Scientific Coordinator of the CEORLab, and Director of the Doctoral Program in Optometry and Vision Sciences. Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Optometry and member of the editorial board of BioMed Research International.

He earned his Diploma in Optics and Optometry from the University of Santiago de Compostela with the Extraordinary Graduation Award from the Ministry of Education and Science in 1997. After a research stay at the CCLRU_CRCERT of the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) in 1999, he joined the University of Minho as a visiting professor in 2001, where he also obtained his PhD in Sciences in 2007.

He is currently an Associate Professor with habilitation for a chair at the same university, Scientific Coordinator of the Clinical and Experimental Optometry Research Lab (CEORLab), and Director of the Doctoral Program in Optometry and Vision Sciences, which he held until June 2016 while serving as Vice-Dean of the School of Sciences for the pedagogical area since 2013. He has been Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Optometry since 2010 and a member of the editorial board of BioMed Research International.

He is the author or co-author of 130 articles, cited 1,500 times (h-index=20). He has delivered over 350 presentations, 75 as an invited speaker, and authored 20 book chapters and edited 3 books, the latest titled Ocular Surface and Contact Lenses, published by the Spanish Visual Health Foundation.