Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz

Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz is a professor of astrophysics, astronomy, and earth sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Early life and education

Ramirez-Ruiz was born and raised in Mexico City. His parents were both chemists and academics. 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.

Career

Ramirez-Ruiz holds the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair in Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was a postdoctoral 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.  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. The philosophy of the Lamat Institute is based on the promotion of mentorship and critical analyses of society.  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.

As a theoretical astrophysicist, Ramirez-Ruiz studies violent astrophysical processes relating to the growth of substances on neutron stars and black holes. 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.

Selected publications

• Kasen, D., Metzger, B., Barnes, J., Quataert, E., and Ramirez-Ruiz, E., "Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational- wave event." Nature, 551(7678):80–84, Oct 2017. doi: 10.1038/nature24453.
• Guillochon, J. and Ramirez-Ruiz, E., “Hydrodynamical Simulations to Determine the Feeding Rate of Black Holes by the Tidal Disruption of Stars: The Importance of the Impact Parameter and Stellar Structure” The Astrophysical Journal, 767(1):25, Mar 2013. doi: 10.1088/ 0004-637x/767/1/25.
• Gehrels, N., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., and Fox, D., "Gamma ray bursts in the iswift/i era. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 47(1): 567–617, Sep 2009. doi: 10.1146/annurev.astro.46. 060407.145147.
• Roberts, L. F., Kasen, D., Lee, W. H., and Ramirez-Ruiz, E., "Electromagnetic Transients Powered by Nuclear Decay in the Tidal Tails of Coalescing Compact Binaries". The Astrophysical Journal, 736(1):L21, jul 2011. doi: 10.1088/2041-8205/ 736/1/l21.