Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ramirez-Ruiz was born and raised in Mexico City. Ramirez-Ruiz completed his undergraduate studies in physics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge.
Ramirez-Ruiz holds the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair in Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[1] He was a NASA Chandra and Bahcall Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and the Mexican Academy of Sciences in 2010.[2] [3] [4] In 2019, he received the HEAD Mid-Career Prize from the American Astronomical Societyhttps://news.ucsc.edu/2019/02/ramirez-ruiz-head-prize.html. In 2021, he was awarded the Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach by the American Physical Society.
Ramirez-Ruiz founded the Lamat Institute at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2009 to provide research opportunities in STEM for undergraduates who want to transfer to four-year universities and attend graduate school.[5] [6] The philosophy of the Lamat Institute is based on the promotion of effective mentorship and critical research project design. In February 2022, Ramirez-Ruiz received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring for creating the Lamat Institute and expanding research programs in STEM.[7]
As a theoretical astrophysicist, Ramirez-Ruiz studies violent astrophysical processes relating to the growth of substances on neutron stars and black holes.[8] He established a framework for organizing and analyzing new data from astronomical instruments, such as telescopes and surveys. Ramirez-Ruiz's work also includes the use of computer models that simulate the death of stars. His work has contributed to larger efforts relating to the universe's origin.