Joaquin Ruiz, executive dean of the University of Arizona's College of Letters, Arts and Science and professor of geosciences, will be admitted into Mexico's National System of Researchers, known as SNI, by Mexico president Felipe Calderon in a Spring ceremony.
For the first time in SNI history, the organization has opened its membership to outstanding Mexican scholars living abroad.
The announcement from the Univ. of Arizona noted that Joaquin "is well known for his research involving the formation of metallic ore deposits. In particular, he studies the factors responsible for the origin of ore-forming elements in copper and gold ore deposits at or near the earth's surface.
His work has revealed that gold deposits also offer a method for studying the evolution of the atmosphere, specifically how the oxygen concentration has changed through time. He also is an expert in the tectonic evolution of southern Mexico."