By Haneen Zain
Since joining UC Santa Cruz in 2007, Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz has pushed the boundaries of astronomy and astrophysics. The UC Santa Cruz professor has won a number of awards for his research of the cosmos, mentorship of students, and groundbreaking research including a Packard Fellowship, NSFCAREER Award, and more. In 2020, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2022 he received the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
“Science and storytelling are not separate. They are both ways to understand the world and our place in it.” – Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, UC Santa Cruz
Ramirez-Ruiz studies some of the most powerful explosions since the birth of the universe. He uses simulations to explore the cataclysmic death of stars that give rise to many of the elements of the periodic table. His work tests ideas at the edge of human experience, challenging how we imagine the universe and our place within it.
Ramirez-Ruiz will host the second annual Landesman Lecture in conversation with slam poet, performance coach, and author Jasmine Schlafke. The duo will blend science, poetry, and storytelling to explore our deepest origins and shared humanity.
“I have deep admiration for Jasmine and the way her powerful poems and performances bring ideas to life,” Ramirez-Ruiz said. “She has a remarkable gift for weaving stories that awaken empathy, spark connection, and touch the heart, showing how art can make the world feel closer and more meaningful. Together, we hope to bridge science and art, revealing how wonder and shared experience can emerge through the strength of storytelling.”
Schlafke, better known by her stage name Queen Jasmeen, is a poet, slam coach, diversity trainer, and a doula from Santa Cruz. Her first book, Crowned, published in 2019 is a widely respected expression of the complexity of compounded identities, reflecting on mental health, race, teen parenting, womanhood, ministry, and more. Currently, she works as a privately contracted poetry and performance coach and is a proud single mother of two grown children.
The Landesman Lecture Series is made possible by the generosity of Edward (Ed) and Miriam Landesman, UC Santa Cruz faculty retirees whose philanthropic gift supports this lecture.
“We hope the lecture series will bring together UCSC students and faculty, as well as community members of all ages,” Edward said. “We hope that students will be inspired to pursue studies in science or math, and if not, they would appreciate the role of science and mathematics in society.”
The Landesmans established the lecture series as a means to not only inspire students, but to increase accessibility to the sciences. Ramirez-Ruiz hopes the lecture gives attendees a perspective beyond themselves.
“I hope attendees leave with a sense of being part of something far greater, a story that stretches across the cosmos and binds us through our shared humanity,” Ramirez-Ruiz said. “Through both science and art, I want people to feel the thrill of curiosity, the joy of discovery, and the wonder that comes from connecting to the world around them, carrying that inspiration into their own lives and communities.”
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