Ronald Lopez
Biography
I am a former NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow from the University of California, Santa Barbara. I specialize in building instrumentation for high-resolution spectroscopy and exoplanet imaging, most recently developing MOMOS, a high-resolution multi-object spectrometer using MKID energy-resolving detectors. I have been involved in other projects such as the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer, the NIRSPEC upgrade on Keck II, and the polarimetry mode of the Gemini Planet Imager 2.0 upgrade. My science interests center on the atmospheres of directly imaged planets and the properties of debris disks.
Education
I obtained my Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from UCLA in 2023. Before that I obtained my B.S. degree in Astrophysics also from UCLA in 2015, and I am a former community college transfer student from Los Angeles Pierce College.
Professional Experience
I am a former NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I worked on building an MKID high-resolution multi-object spectrograph as well as the Gemini Planet Imager 2.0 upgrade.
Community Service
I worked with transfer students to prepare them for their transition to a four-year research institution from community college.
Research Interests
Astronomical instrumentation and the discovery and characterization of directly imaged exoplanets and disks.