SAC校友鲁道夫·蒙特兹.

小鲁道夫·蒙特兹. 研究恒星的演化, especially ones that are dying and which will transform into iconic nebula. 他也是星云的x射线专家, studying both diffuse and compact emissions from the celestial bodies. 天体物理学家, he conducts his research at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a collaborative center between the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University.

除了, he is part of the Chandra X-ray Center, which manages the Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA’s four Great Observatories , which are orbital satellites that provide incredible images from space. He is one of a handful of scientists who organize the scientific competition for the observations by the billion-dollar X-ray telescope.

His career may have been dramatically different however, had he not attended 圣安东尼奥学院.

In high school, Montez excelled at science and math, his favorite subject. When it came time to talk about his future, he told his guidance counselor he wanted to be a scientist. He didn’t get the response he was expecting.

“My counselor laughed and said don’t do that – you will never get a job,” said Montez. “So I asked what I should do and he suggested that I go into accounting.”

He received a Presidential Scholars scholarship and attended SAC intending to go into business administration. 快两年了, Montez needed a science credit and took an introductory astronomy course taught by Alfred Alaniz. The class reignited his passion for science. “I was talking to my friends so much about the astronomy class that they were the ones who told me why don’t you do that instead of accounting?” 

At first he was reluctant to change his career path, 但在和阿兰尼兹谈过之后, Montez began taking additional math and science courses. He credits SAC for giving him the opportunity to explore his interest in science, which eventually led to him pursuing physics at the University of Texas at Austin.

While at SAC he earned associate degrees in both business administration and applied science. He then transferred to the UT Austin, where he double-majored in astronomy and physics. 当我还是个大学生的时候, he spent a semester doing research at an observatory in Chile, 在麻省理工干草堆天文台度过一个夏天, and a summer at 圣安东尼奥’s Southwest Research Institute as part of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.

He then attended the Rochester Institute of Technology where he earned his doctorate in astrophysics.

Montez still visits SAC to talk about his work with students in Alaniz’s classes.

Coming to campus reminds him of the sage advice he received from his friends to pursue astronomy. “I don’t know if I have ever told them thanks for pushing me in that direction. 我可能应该这么做。. “But they know that they are the cause.”

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