Six students from Mexican universities spent several weeks this summer at UC Santa Cruz doing research projects with UCSC science faculty. They were supported by the Fulbright-García Robles Scholarship Program directed by the Mexico-U.S. Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS).
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, helped organize the internship program at UCSC. Most of the students did research in astrophysics, but one student worked on a biology project with Beth Shapiro, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.
In July, the students were honored at an event in San Francisco where their work was recognized by the Mexican secretary of foreign affairs, José Antonio Meade Kuribreña. One of the UCSC interns, Ariadna Murguía Berthier, spoke at the event, which was sponsored by the Mexican Consulate in San Jose.
"She has been working closely with me and has already published a paper on high-energy astrophysics as first author," Ramirez-Ruiz said. The paper, on short gamma-ray bursts produced by neutron star mergers, will be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
COMEXUS is an independent organization funded by the governments of the United States and Mexico. The Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholarship is the flagship program in U.S.-Mexico academic exchanges. Since COMEXUS was established, over 4,000 Mexican and American students, professors, and English language teachers have benefited from Fulbright-Garcia Robles grants.
