University of California, Santa Cruz announced recently that Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz has been appointed the Endowed Chair for Diversity in Astronomy. According to UC Santa Cruz, the professor and chair of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz is the inaugural holder of the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair for Diversity in Astronomy. Rubin (1928-2016) was a diversity champion in science and served as a mentor to dozens of astronomers. The chair was created last year to advance diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence in astronomy.
Speaking at the investiture ceremony held on Wednesday, May 22, at the University Center, Ramirez-Ruiz said his department has more National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate fellowship recipients than any other astronomy department in the country, and the third largest number of prize postdoctoral fellowships awarded to its students in the past decade. The department has also earned recognition from the American Astronomical Society with the highest diversity ranking score.
The astronomy department is recruiting talented students from under-represented groups, but there is more work to be done, he said at the ceremony last month.
To that end, Ramirez-Ruiz has established the Lamat program, which gives undergraduate students the opportunity to work with faculty and graduate students on computational astrophysics projects. With the funds from the Rubin Chair, Ramirez-Ruiz said he is working to give the program a greater emphasis on developing students’ data science skills.
According to Lamat’s website, the eight-week summer program is designed to introduce students to astrophysical research methods and tools through original research projects in computational astrophysics.
Ramirez-Ruiz is a theoretical astrophysicist whose research explores the nature of the universe. He uses computer simulations to study collisions, mergers, and disruptions of stars, and his work is essential to interpreting the results of gravitational wave detections. Since joining the UC Santa Cruz faculty in 2007, he has earned numerous awards and honors, including a Packard Fellowship, a Niels Bohr Professorship, and most recently the 2019 HEAD Mid-Career Prize from the American Astronomical Society.
The Lamat program targets undergraduate students in science and engineering currently enrolled in community colleges in California who might not have research experience. They aim to provide a unique introduction to computational astrophysics for undergraduate students early in their careers.
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