Ronald Lopez

Hello! My name is Ronald Alexander Lopez and I am a graduate student in astronomy & astrophysics at UCLA. I developed a fascination with astronomy at a very young age, despite growing up in Los Angeles, where only the brightest objects can be seen. This was enough however, to drive my desire to get a Ph.D. long before I even knew what it was. I learned a lot about astronomy through documentaries, planetarium shows, and JPL open houses, where I was able to see all of the amazing science being done in our solar system. Today, I am still enthusiastic about the other planets in our solar system and even more enticed by the discovery of new worlds outside of our solar system. As a graduate student I get to work in the exoplanet realm, focusing on direct imaging and instrumentation. For AAS, I will present my research on the warped debris disk around HD 110058 using scattered light imaging with Gemini Planet Imager. In addition to research, I am very active in my department as a planetarium coordinator, astronomy graduate student representative, departmental DEI committee member, and graduate student DEI advisory board member to the dean of physical sciences. Outside of academia, I love to play sports, play chess, and I am a beginner pianist.