The legacy of Prof. Gabriel Freire to contemporary research on microwave photonics at ITA

This paper highlights some of what, from the author's perspective, were notable contributions of Prof. Gabriel Freire to the advancement of microwave photonics at ITA, Brazil. For nearly three decades, beginning in the early 1960s when he completed Master's and PhD programs in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, he was a driving force in the development of ITA's graduate studies program. He was without a doubt a very good researcher, a learned scholar, and an inspiring teacher who kindled the spirit of discovery in his students. The paper intersperses his academic achievements with a few personal reminiscences provided by his former students and attempts to review his notable legacy to microwave photonics.