Raiza R. Quintero

I'm a geologist, impact crater enthusiast, professor, science communicator, and mom with a rock and mineral obsession.

After spending nearly eight years in the energy industry, I found my way back to academia and never looked back. Today, I teach geology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where I get to spend my days convincing students that the atomic structures of minerals are actually cool, fieldwork is the best classroom, and looking at rocks under a microscope counts as a good time. My research focuses on impact craters and the microscopic fingerprints left behind when asteroids collide with Earth, which includes a little detective work, a little planetary science, and a lot of staring at quartz.

When I'm not in the lab or out in the field, you'll probably find me talking about rocks to anyone willing to listen. I'm passionate about science outreach and making Earth and planetary science accessible, especially for kids and young women who might not yet see themselves as future scientists. Oh, and I am also the coordinator of my university's geology museum. Somewhere between lectures, conferences, and crater hunting, I'm also raising a family and trying to grow vegetables, still amazed that the rocks beneath our feet eventually become the soils that feed us.

Ya sea caminando por un afloramiento, explicando por qué la geología de Puerto Rico es tan increíble o buscando evidencia de una antigua colisión cósmica, creo que la ciencia está para explorarse, compartirse y disfrutarse, con mucha curiosidad y un buen poco de tierra en las botas.