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Ainissa G. Ramirez

Visiting Assistant Professor 2006-07; Visiting Associate Professor 2007-08 Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Yale University
The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been in the minority… It will take such a small committed minority to work unrelentingly to win the uncommitted majority. Such a group may transform America’s greatest dilemma into her most glorious opportunity.
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Background

Ainissa G. Ramirez is a self-proclaimed “science evangelist” and professor of mechanical engineering at Yale University. She received her training in materials science and engineering at Brown University (ScB) and Stanford University (PhD).

Interests

Ramirez’ work includes the development of thin film NiTi shape memory alloys for microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS), as well as generating enthusiasm for STEM fields among young people. Before joining the faculty at Yale in 2003, she worked for four years as a member of technical staff at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies in New Jersey, where she developed a universal solder (a reactive solder that bonds to glass), now commercialized by Adhera Technologies, a company she founded. She holds six patents and has written over 50 technical articles. 

As a leader in science education who is especially passionate about showing young people that science is fun, Ramirez has been an advisor to several science museums. At Yale, she founded and directed the award-winning science lecture series for children, “Science Saturdays,” and hosted two popular-science video series, “Material Marvels” and “Science Xplained”. Along with Allen St. John, Dr. Ramirez co-authored Newton’s Football and is the author of Save Our Science, which is based on her TED talk about the importance of STEM education.

Sample Work

  • Publication

    Effects of Crystallization Temperature on the Stress of NiTi Thin Films

    Effects of Crystallization Temperature on the Stress of NiTi Thin Films, H. –J. Lee, X. Huang, K.P. Mohanchandra, G. Carman, A. G. Ramirez; Scripta Materialia 60 (2009) pp. 1133–1136.

  • Publication

    Incomplete Martensitic Transformations in NiTi Thin Films

    Incomplete Martensitic Transformations in NiTi Thin Films, X. Huang, H. –J. Lee, A. G. Ramirez; Scripta Materialia, Vol. 59, (2008) pp. 1067-1070.

  • Publication

    Nanoindentation of Ni-Ti Thin Films

    Nanoindentation of Ni-Ti Thin Films, P.D. Tall, S. Ndiaye, A.C. Beye, Z. Zong, W. O. Soboyejo H. –J. Lee, A. G. Ramirez and K. Rajan  Materials and Manufacturing Process, Vol. 22, (2007) pp. 175-179.

  • Publication

    Informatics for Combinatorial Experiments: Accelerating Data Interpretation

    Informatics for Combinatorial Experiments: Accelerating Data Interpretation, Stukowski, M. Suh, C.; Rajan, K.; Tall, P.D.; Beye, A.C.; Ramirez, A.G.; Soboyejo, W.O.; Benson, M.L.; Liaw, P.K. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, v 894 (2006) p 301-306.

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