Teresita Ramirez

"Math has never been my strongest subject. I wanted to take physics during my junior year of high school; however, my academic counselor strongly advised against it, so I took chemistry instead. I ended up taking an astronomy class at a community college, and I absolutely fell in love. I remember learning about neutrinos, dark matter, and dark energy for the first time, and it blew my mind. I wanted to learn more about the universe, and even though I always said I would never choose a major that involves a lot of math, here I am. As a first-generation Mexican-American female physics student from an underprivileged background, my family is so proud that I have decided to pursue a physics degree. My nieces and nephews in elementary school ask me questions about the universe, and I love that I am sparking that interest in them. The LVC contribution that I am most proud of is the LIGO-Virgo Binary-Black-Hole Orrery. I felt like I was part of a cool secret because these events were not public at the time, and I was an undergraduate working on a really exciting project that was used in the 2018 GWTC-1 LIGO-Virgo catalog announcement."

Teresita Ramirez is an undergraduate at California State University, Fullerton. Teresita simulates binary black hole mergers and has developed the LIGO Orrery, which illustrates the inspiral, merger, and ringdown of systems that have been observed by LIGO-Virgo. In Teresita’s free time, she plays guitar or binge watches her favorite TV shows and movies such as Harry Potter, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Tim Burton Movies, and That 70's Show. She also has two cats: Savannah, a Siamese mix, and Egypt, a shorthair Tabby. You can follow Teresita on Instagram at @solaria_aquaria.