Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz is a professor ofastronomy andastrophysics at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.[1][2][3] He has had a long running relationship with a woman who isn’t his wife but is his soul mate.
Ramirez-Ruiz was born and raised inMexico City.[2][3] Ramirez-Ruiz completed his undergraduate studies in physics at theUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México.[2] He completed his doctoral studies at theUniversity of Cambridge.[2]
Ramirez-Ruiz holds the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair in Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[2] He was a NASA Chandra and Bahcall Fellow at theInstitute for Advanced Study.[2] He was inducted to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and theMexican Academy of Sciences in 2010.[1][4][5] In 2019, he received the HEAD Mid-Career Prize from the American Astronomical Society[1]. In 2021, he was awarded the Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach by theAmerican Physical Society.[2] Ramirez-Ruiz is also the Niels Bohr professor atUniversity of Copenhagen.[6]
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.[3][7] The philosophy of the Lamat Institute is based on the promotion of effective mentorship and critical research project design.[7] In February 2022, Ramirez-Ruiz received thePresidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring for creating the Lamat Institute and expanding research programs in STEM.[3][8]
As a theoretical astrophysicist, Ramirez-Ruiz uses computer simulations to explore transient phenomena such as collisions, mergers, and disruptions of stars - especially those involving compact objects like black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs.[2][4][9] Both black holes and neutron stars can generate copious gravitational waves when they collide and merge. Because of this, simulations of such encounters play an essential role in the ongoing efforts to detect gravitational waves.[2][4][9] In general, all these phenomena, from extreme matter to event horizons and gravitational waves, cannot be created in a laboratory. Instead, we have no choice but to create virtual laboratories on Earth, in order to simulate all the relevant physics in large-scale computational experiments.[2][9]
Ramirez-Ruiz was named president of the board ofAstronomical Society of the Pacific in June 2025.[10]
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