Forbes includes a Valencian professor among the 50 most awarded Spaniards

The publication highlights the international impact of the research carried out by the professor, which makes him a “Eminence in Groundwater Research”. In fact, Jaime Gómez is currently the most cited Spanish university professor in this field, highlights the academic institution in a statement.

This list, which has already been made for years in the Forbes edition in the United States, arrives for the first time in Spain. For its preparation, those profiles from different fields and sectors that have received the most awards for their career and projects in the last five years and internationally have been selected.

Jaime Gómez-Hernández is professor of Hydraulic Engineering at the UPV’s Higher Technical School of Engineering of Roads, Canals and Ports and head of the Hydrogeology group of the Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

In 2020 he received the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW), the most important in the area of ​​water engineering worldwide, which recognized the scientific contributions in the field of groundwater made by the Valencian researcher.

Also last year he was awarded the 2020 William Christian Krumbein Medal, awarded by the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences (IAMG) and considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the field of research on mathematics applied to Earth sciences and was named Distinguished Lecturer by the same association to represent her on a world tour that could never be done due to the pandemic.

These merits are now highlighted by Forbes magazine and place Gómez on a list alongside Spanish personalities from the most diverse fields, from sports, to the economy, culture, innovation or science, among many others.

“For me, appearing on this list has been a surprise, and coming from Forbes magazine, in my case it recognizes the immense fortune I have had by being surrounded by mentors, collaborators, doctoral students and, also, why not say it, family , who have helped and supported me in developing a scientific career that, during 2020, has been recognized internationally by my own peers, “says Jaime Gómez.

The expert is one of the most recognized scientists worldwide in the field of Hydrogeology. His studies for the characterization of the heterogeneity of aquifers are today an international reference. For example, his contributions have been instrumental in the introduction of stochastic simulation in hydrogeology, which is now used worldwide for the evaluation of uncertainty in aquifer systems.

MORE THAN 7,000 APPOINTMENTS

During his more than 30 years dedicated to research, he has published more than a hundred articles in scientific journals, which have received more than 7,000 citations. In addition, he is also associate editor in the most prestigious journals in his sector, including Mathematical Geosciences, Advances in Water Resources Springer Nature Applied Science or Frontiers in Earth Sciences, and current president of geoENVia, the International Association of Environmental Geostatistics and vice president of the Group. Spanish of the International Association of Hydrogeologists.

For the elaboration of this list, Forbes identified the main awards granted internationally in different professional, business and scientific branches, as well as artistic and cultural. Later, it was distinguished among the entities with the greatest relevance and authority in its sector. In a period from October 2021 to five years ago, the list of winners of said winners was examined to collect all recognized Spaniards. Finally, the winners with the most impact in the international arena were selected.