Feb. 23 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Dr. Ainissa Ramirez at Campbell Hall

Join the award-winning scientist as she promotes a love of exploration and showcases little-known inventors – particularly people of color and women 

SUMMARY

  • Thursday, February 23 | 7:30 p.m. | Campbell Hall
    • Ramirez makes complex scientific processes clear and mesmerizing as she tells inclusive stories about technology
    • Join her in uncovering hidden figures in science whose inventions changed our way of life

“Utterly breathtaking.” – First Lady Dr. Jill Biden

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Ainissa Ramirez on Thursday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall. An award-winning scientist, science communicator and author, Ramirez promotes a love of exploration, making complex scientific processes clear and mesmerizing to just about everyone. In her recent book The Alchemy of Us, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors – particularly people of color and women – who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias and convention. Doing so shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also reveals that innovation is universal – whether it’s splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

ABOUT AINISSA RAMIREZ

Ainissa Ramirez, Ph.D., is an award-winning scientist and science communicator who is passionate about getting the general public excited about science. A graduate of Brown University, she earned her doctorate in materials science and engineering from Stanford. Ramirez started her career as a scientist at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, and later worked as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Yale. She authored the books The Alchemy of Us and Save Our Science and co-authored Newton’s Football. She has written for ForbesTimeThe AtlanticScientific AmericanAmerican Scientist, and Science and has explained science headlines on CBS, CNN, NPR, ESPN, and PBS.     

Ramirez speaks widely on the topics of science and technology. Her TEDxBroadway talk on science education explores the importance of creating excitement among young people about science through the arts. She has won prizes from the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the American Institute of Physics. She speaks internationally on the importance of making science fun. She has served as a science advisor to the American Film Institute, WGBH/NOVA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and several science museums. She also hosts a science podcast called Science Underground.

View “Where arts and science meet: Ainissa Ramirez at TEDxBroadway”

About UCSB Arts & Lectures

Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.

Ainissa Ramirez is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.Registration is free.

For more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or go to www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

Presented in association with the following UCSB departments: Materials Department and Graduate Students for Diversity in Science, Enhancing Success in Transfer Education for Engineering Majors (ESTEEM) and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Through its Justice for All Programming Initiative, A&L remains committed to addressing issues of social injustice

UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2022-2023 season.