María Teresa Ruiz is currently Director of the Center of Excellence in Astrophysics and Related Technologies CATA, as well as President of the Chilean Academy of Sciences, being the first woman to hold this position. Ruiz was also the first woman in history to receive a doctorate in astrophysics from Princeton University in the United States. Today she is also a full professor in the Department of Astronomy of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Chile.
The astronomer is the third Chilean woman to receive the award. In 2007 the award was given to Ligia Gargallo, a chemist with degrees from the University of Concepción and doctorates from the Catholic University of Louvain and the University of Liège, both in Belgium. In 1998, the biologist from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Gloria Montenegro Rizzardini, was the first Latin American to receive the award.
The award winners are first nominated by the scientific community in their respective areas and then evaluated by an international jury of 12 renowned scientists.
