Hispanic Heritage Month Highlight: Meet Ayax Ramirez

Courtesy Photo | 160909-N-N1809-001 San Diego, CA (Sept. 9, 2016) Ayax Ramirez, division head for basic and applied research at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific), poses next to a Hispanic Heritage poster board during a diversity event at NIWC Pacific. Ramirez was highlighted in a feature story as part of an effort to celebrate diversity at Naval Information Warfare Systems Command during National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 – Oct. 15.  

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

09.29.2020

Story by Maison Piedfort  

Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific

This Hispanic Heritage Month, join us in celebrating diversity at Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR). In this highlight we go to Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific) to meet Ayax Ramirez, Hispanic employee and division head for basic and applied research under the Cyber S&T Department.

Ramirez took the time to answer some questions about his personal life and career within the context of his heritage. We wanted to know: how has growing up within the Hispanic culture affected his life? How has it impacted his work?

“Diversity is a very strong value that is part of my family and my heritage,” said Ramirez when asked about his favorite aspect of Hispanic culture. “A diverse group is always stronger, especially when it comes to bringing different perspectives and enriching decision making.”

Ramirez’s parents and grandparents were born in Mexico, unlike Ramirez who was born in San Diego. He notes that while his parents were determined to preserve their culture while childrearing, it was not difficult to do in a region so influenced by Hispanic culture.

“Many states in our country have preserved Hispanic culture,” Ramirez said. “Hispanics were in these territories before the 1846 Mexican-American war — so the food, the language, religion — it’s all been here for a long time as a permanent part of the American culture.”

Ramirez’s parents ensured he was raised bilingual and with a deep sense of family unity. “In our community, there is a tendency to live close to family members, even as they get married and grow old,” he said. “It recharges my batteries to spend time with my family every week or so.”

Although money was scarce growing up, Ramirez’s family invested in him early on. In one defining moment, his father, who loved science, gave 13-year-old Ramirez a choice on his birthday: would he prefer a small motorcycle or a set of Life Science™ Library books? He chose the 20-volume set, the first step on a path that would lead him to studying physics and eventually winding up at NIWC Pacific.

Ramirez described his current role as “facilitating the research process in an environment that is conducive to creativity and innovation” but once worked as a researcher himself before becoming a division head. Throughout his 23-year career at NIWC Pacific, Ramirez has worked on laser physics, laser processing, and material science as well as helped build the Excimer Laser Lab in the Photonics Branch.

When asked how his Hispanic heritage might bring a different perspective to his role at work, Ramirez noted the one thread that runs from his childhood to his day-to-day at the lab — the sense of community. He is an avid mentor and believes his propensity for it could come from growing up within the Hispanic family structure.

“The idea of a scientist hiding himself or herself in the lab and coming out years later yelling ‘eureka!’ — that's not what a modern-day scientist does,” Ramirez said. “The problems we deal with are so challenging that we simply must work together. It takes all of us to see an idea flourish from conception to implementation.”

To Ramirez, the comfort in knowing one can work in an environment of full acceptance every day is invaluable and necessary for collaborative innovation. “When people feel safe, accepted, and included, you’ll have the greatest performers you could ever hire,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez spends his time outside work teaching physics, playing or watching soccer, reading, and collecting science books, but it’s clear he considers his work a large part of his life. He shows up every day to work with a smile and with the same passion he has shown for the last two decades.

“I worked in industry before joining the NIWC Pacific team, and I can tell you that our Center is a very special place,” he said. “The environment, the mentoring, the ability to form highly effective groups, the noble cause — it’s all invaluable for delivering the right technology to the warfighter.”

National Hispanic Heritage Month — established in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and later extended to a full month in 1988 — runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year. It is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions Hispanic Americans have played in shaping American history and culture.

As a part of NAVWAR, NIWC Pacific’s mission is to conduct research, development, engineering, and support of integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber, and space systems across all warfighting domains, and to rapidly prototype, conduct test and evaluation, and provide acquisition, installation, and in-service engineering support.

• Date Taken: 09.29.2020
• Date Posted: 09.29.2020 14:16
• Story ID: 379675
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US