Received the L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science award in Paris, honoring her scientific contributions.
On 23 March 2017, María Teresa Ruiz was scheduled to receive the L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science award in Paris. Contemporary coverage identified that date as the ceremony day, linking the honor to her achievements in astronomy and her role as a visible woman in science.
The award was significant because it recognized both scientific excellence and the broader importance of women’s participation in research. Ruiz was honored for work associated with the discovery and study of a brown dwarf and for her pioneering investigations of faint stars. That combination of discovery and visibility made the award especially meaningful: it celebrated her as both a researcher and a role model.
In historical context, the recognition came after decades of institutional leadership in Chile and international scientific contribution. It reinforced the idea that women’s scientific work deserved major global acknowledgment, and it placed Ruiz among an elite group of women scientists whose careers have expanded the public understanding of what women can achieve in astronomy.