Dr. Ramon E. Lopez

Ramon E. Lopez is a Professor of Physics at The University of Texas at Arlington. His research is both in space plasma physics and physics education. He is the author of over 120 peer-reviewed papers and co-author of the popular science book Storms from the Sun. His space physics research  interests include magnetic storms and substorms and space weather prediction. His physics education research interests include the role of spatial intelligence in learning physics and the use of active learning techniques in advanced physics courses. Ramon is a Fellow in the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). His awards include the 2002 APS Nicholson Medal, the 2010 SACNAS (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) Distinguished Scientist Award, the 2012 APS Edward A. Bouchet Award, and two NASA Group Achievement Awards. Ramon was one of the authors of the College Board's Standards for College Success Science Standards, a member of the Leadership Team that directed the writing of the Next Generation Science Standards, and he currently serves as the Chair of the Science Academic Advisory Committee for the College Board. Ramon has served on eight National Research Council (NRC) committees, including the 2012 Heliophysics Decadal Survey Steering Committee and the NRC committee that wrote the report Future Science Opportunities in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, which outlined scientific priorities in Antarctic research for the next 20 years. Ramon earned a B.S. in physics in 1980 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Ph.D. in space physics in 1986 from Rice University.