Ainissa Ramirez

Brainstormer, Change agent, Educator/Teacher, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Inventor, Performer, Scientist, Social entrepreneur, World traveler, Writer/Editor

Ainissa G. Ramirez, Ph.D. is a science evangelist who is passionate about getting the general public excited about science. She co-authored Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game (Random House); and, authored Save Our Science: How to Inspire a New Generation of Scientists (TED Books). Before taking on the call to improve the public’s understanding of science, she was an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at Yale University. Technology Review, the magazine of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), named her as one of the world’s 100 Top Young Innovators for her contributions to transforming technology. She has been profiled in The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, CBS News, Inside Edition, Fox News, CNN, NPR, ESPN, Time Magazine as well as scientific magazines (Scientific American and Discover Magazine). Dr. Ramirez received her training in materials science and engineering from Brown University (Sc.B.) and Stanford University (Ph.D.). Prior to being on the faculty at Yale, she was a research scientist at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, in Murray Hill, New Jersey were she did award-winning research. She has authored more than 50 technical papers, holds six patents, and has presented her work worldwide. She now focuses her energies on making science fun, and gave an impassioned called to action at TED on the importance of understanding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), which generated widespread enthusiasm. At Yale, she was the director of the award-winning science lecture series for children called Science Saturdays and hosted two popular-science video series called Material Marvels and Science Xplained. She speaks internationally on the importance of making science fun and has served as a science advisor to the American Film Institute, WGBH/NOVA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and several science museums. Currently, she is writing a book on the role of materials in history and hosts a science podcast called Science Underground.

Getting kids excited about science by finding some idea that inspires them to want to learn. Opening science learning to all.

To get more kids excited about science, we need science rock stars. One idea is to create local TED science shows for kids that showcase fun science lectures. We have one at Yale called Science Saturdays (www.sciencesaturdays.org), which has been very popular; my goal is to have one in each metropolis. If you want to get kids excited about science, show them cool people doing it. Another way to teach science is through music. Imagine kids reciting lyrics of rap and hip-hop songs that are about science! Science teachers would have easier lives. We should bring back bookmobiles as a local hub for kids in urban areas. By adding computers to them, kids can make movies, music and other creative projects, which can be stealthily used to teach science & technology. We need more open science labs and tinkering spaces so that people can do experiments and make things without the barrier of resources. Such open innovation spaces would re-charge our spirits and our economy.

Brainstorming, Education, Explaining complex topics, Idea Generating, inspiring kids with science, making science fun, Material Science and Engineering, Nanotechnology, science, Science Advising for Hollywood/Television, Science Communication, science writing, STEM

My invitation to give a TED talk is miraculous. I am in the midst of a challenging career change from the hallowed halls of academia to finding work that is more meaningful to me. My path is to become a science popularizer in the tradition of Neil Tyson and Bill Nye. The transition has had ups and downs and some days I wish I could go back to the academic treadmill, which was killing my spirit. I forged ahead anyway towards my life's work to get kids (of all ages) excited about science and started a short video series (www.materialmarvels.com). On a lark, I sent my videos to TED with very low expectations. As fate would have it, I was invited to give a TED talk. My TED story? Well, my story has just begun but it consists of taking a leap of faith towards the things that excite you. The path will make itself apparent for my fellow map-less travelers. And, as our old friend Robert Frost said "I took the [road] less traveled by. And that has made all the difference."

Stand-up comedy. I performed a stand-up comedy show at Caroline's on Broadway.