Maritza Tavarez-Brown

Science

PhD, Astronomy, University of Washington; BA/MA, Physics, Hunter College of CUNY; BA, Political Science, Yale

Dr. Tavarez-Brown, or Dr. T. as she is known by her students, has taught physics, mathematics, and astronomy in independent schools in the PNW for eighteen years.  Her educational journey was long and varied and continues to this day. It includes a political science degree with a concentration on Latin American comparative governments from Yale. She then had a definitive switch to the natural sciences, with a two-year BA/MA in physics with a year-long break full of research experiences at the Maria Mitchell Observatory on Nantucket to living in La Serena, Chile doing research at the US Observatory at Cerro Tololo. The next stop was Ann Arbor, MI and Seattle, WA for a PhD in astronomy, concentrating on dark matter and galaxies. For fun, she likes to work on home DIY projects, cook Cuban food and has recently begun to quilt.

“I love teaching Physics!  It’s that a-ha moment… when a student figures out that is indeed how the world works! Makes it all worth it!”