María Teresa Ruiz

María Teresa Ruiz is a renowned Chilean astronomer who made history as the first person from Latin America to earn a doctoral degree in astrophysics. She is best known for discovering a brown dwarf—a celestial object that is larger than a planet but not big enough to be a star—in 1994. Her work has significantly advanced our understanding of stellar formation and the universe. Ruiz has received numerous awards for her contributions to science and is a leading figure promoting astronomy and science education in Latin America.