José María Otero Navascués was born in Madrid in 1907. He stood out for his scientific and intellectual skills since his formation at the Army Artillery Academy.

His interest in metallurgy was transformed into passion for optics, he carried out important studies in geometric optics, physics, physiology and nuclear energy. After the Civil War he founded and directed the Optics Institute Daza de Valdés, where he discovered the phenomenon of night myopia in 1942, increasing vision in binoculars and telescopes by 66%.

He was the director of the Board of Atomic Investigations and later, of the Nuclear Energy Board between 1958 and 1974. Another of the scientific fields in which he highlighted was that of meteorology, in which he became president of the International Committee of Weights and Measures. In 1968, he was appointed governor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He received an honorary doctorate from the universities of Valencia, Rouen and Leuven. Otero is considered the father of nuclear energy in Spain.