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Ramón E. López (born c. 1959) is a Puerto Rican physics professor at the
University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...
whose research focuses on
space physics Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of naturally occurring plasmas within Earth's upper atmosphere and the rest of the Solar System. It includes the topics of aeronomy, aurorae, planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, ...
and
science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...
. He is an elected fellow of the
American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...
(1999) and the recipient of its 2002 Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach for his contributions to science education. He is also an elected fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
(2011). López played an instrumental role in the implementation of a hands-on science program in the elementary and middle grades of the Montgomery County Public School System in Maryland. He is also the co-author of a book on
space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind, especially on the Earth's magnetosphere, ion ...
titled ''Storms from the Sun'' which discusses the magnetic properties of the sun, solar wind, and how these effect the magnetosphere of Earth.


Early life and education

López was born in Illinois to Puerto Rican parents. His father was a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
officer and surgeon and his mother an elementary school teacher. When he was a child his father gave him a telescope as a birthday present, and the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
Moon landing on July 20, 1969 inspired him to seek an education in the field of Space Physics.Ramón López PDF
/ref> When he was in sixth grade, his father retired from the military and his family moved to
Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...
, where his father set up his private medical practice. Years later, the family moved outside the town and he went to Pearl City High School. There his science teacher, who also served as an influential factor in his decision to become a scientist, taught him to do a small amount of computer programming. López entered the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
where in 1976, and earned a B.A. in Physics in 1980. As a student he worked in the Physics Department preparing demonstrations and also wrote articles for the institution's newspaper. He was awarded a National Science Foundation minority graduate fellowship which he used to attend
Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...
in
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as a student in the Department of Space Physics and Astronomy. In 1984 he earned his
Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
and in 1986 a Ph.D. in
space physics Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of naturally occurring plasmas within Earth's upper atmosphere and the rest of the Solar System. It includes the topics of aeronomy, aurorae, planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, ...
(also known as space plasma physics).


Academic career

López worked as a scientist for the Applied Research Corporation (on contract to the
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
Applied Physics Laboratory) from 1985 to 1992.The University of Texas Arlingtion
/ref> In 1992, López went to work for the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
at College Park and served in the following positions: Research Associate Department of Astronomy (92-93), Assistant Director for Research East-West Space Science Center (93-94) and Associate Research Scientist Department of Astronomy (93-99). He worked very closely with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland to help implement a hands-on science program in elementary and middle grades. López served as Director of Education and Outreach Programs of The American Physical Society from 1993–1999 and became the Chair of the Department of Physics at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
at
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.National Society of Hispanic Physicists
In 2002, he was awarded the Nicholson Medal for Humanitarian Service to Science.American Physical Society
/ref>Florida Institute of Technology
/ref> In 2003, he was co-Organizner of the Introductory Calculus-Based Physics Course Conference, sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers. He is also the Co-Director for Diversity for the Center for Integrated Space weather Modeling (CISM), a Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation. In 2004, he moved to the Florida Institute of Technology Dept. of Physics and Space Sciences and moved to the Department of Physics at the
University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...
in 2007.


Space Research

López's research focuses on solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, magnetospheric storms and substorms, and space weather prediction. He has worked extensively on magnetospheric substorms, which are the episodic release of energy extracted from the solar wind and stored in the geomagnetic tail. His research studied the magnetic properties of the sun and solar wind and how these effect the magnetosphere of earth. He leads a research group that is working in both space physics and science education. In 2002 López and Michael Carolwicz co-authored a popular book on space weather titled ''Storms from the Sun: The Emerging Science of Space Weather'' with Michael Carolwicz.


Scientific publications

Among the published works in which López has participated are the following: *''Predicting Magnetopause Crossings at Geosynchronous Orbit During the Halloween Storms,'' Space Weather, 5, S01005, ; 2007; R. E. López, S. Hernandez, M. Wiltberger, C.-L. Huang, E. L. Kepko, H. Spence, C. C. Goodrich, and J. G. Lyon. *''Using Space Physics in Undergraduate Electromagnetism Courses;'' 2007; López, R. E. *''Active Learning for Advanced Students: The Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling Graduate Summer School;'' 2007; López, R. E. and N. A. Gross; . *''Field-Aligned Currents in the Polar Cap During Saturation of the Polar Cap Potential,'' J. Atmos. Sol. Terr. Phys.; R. E. López, S. Hernandez, K. Hallman, R. Valenzuela, J. Seiler, P. Anderson, and M. Hairston (2007). *''The role of magnetosheath force balance in regulating the dayside reconnection potential,'' J. Geophys. Res., 115, A12216, ; 2007; R. E. López, R. Bruntz, E. J. Mitchell, M. Wiltberger, J. G. Lyon, and V. G. Merkin (2010). *''The Impact of Stereo Display on Student Understanding of Phases of the Moon,'' Astronomy Education Review, 9, 010105, ; 2007; X. Cid and R. E. López (2010).


Books

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Professional affiliations and memberships

López is a member of the following: *American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) *American Geophysical Union (AGU) *American Physical Society (APS) *National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP) *Soc. for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science ( SACNAS)


See also

*
List of Puerto Ricans This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
*
Puerto Rican scientists and inventors Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Ramon E. 1959 births Puerto Rican scientists Puerto Rican writers Living people Rice University alumni Hispanic and Latino American physicists Fellows of the American Physical Society