He was awarded the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society, nominated by their Forum on International Physics in 2001 for his significant contributions to the understanding of the optical properties of surfaces and inhomogenous media, as well as for his leadership in the establishment and improvement of relations among physicists in the Americas, and for helping to create the Latin American Federation of Physics Societies. In 2004 he became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. In 2012 he was awarded the National Prize of the Sciences and the Arts in the area of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences by the Government of Mexico.