PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Ana María Cetto

Ana María Cetto is a physicist and AI-policy contributor whose work spans quantum mechanics, science access, and AI governance. At UNAM, she began teaching in 1966 and earned a physics doctorate in 1971; she also earned a biophysics master's at Harvard. She helped establish Latindex in 1995, chaired Pugwash from 1997 to 2002, and held roles at ICSU and the IAEA. In 2022, she coordinated Mexico's experts in the Global Partnership on AI, and UNESCO awarded her the 2023 Kalinga Prize for science popularization. The 2025 Tate Medal recognized her international leadership, and as of October 2026 she is a UNAM professor and researcher who chairs UNESCO's Global Open Science Steering Committee and the UN Independent Scientific Panel on Effects of Nuclear War.

Now at
National Autonomous University of Mexico, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations
Works
227
Citations
2,067
h-index
21
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1966–1971

    Teaching and a physics doctorate

    She begins teaching physics at UNAM's Faculty of Sciences in 1966 and earns a physics doctorate from UNAM in 1971. Her training also includes a biophysics master's from Harvard.

  2. 1995

    Building Latindex

    She helps establish Latindex, a regional information system for scientific journals, in 1995.

  3. 1997–2010

    Pugwash, ICSU and IAEA roles

    She chairs the Pugwash Executive Committee from 1997 to 2002. Before taking the IAEA post, she is named Secretary General of ICSU. In 2003, she becomes deputy director general at the International Atomic Energy Agency, a post she holds through 2010.

  4. 2022

    Coordinating Mexico's AI experts

    At the UNAM–UNESCO presentation of the AI Ethics Recommendation in 2022, she serves as coordinator of Mexico's experts in the Global Partnership on AI.

  5. 2023

    A Kalinga Prize

    UNESCO awards her the Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science on 13 November 2023.

  6. 2025

    A Tate Medal

    The American Institute of Physics awards her the 2025 John Torrence Tate Medal for international leadership in physics.

  7. As of October 2026

    Professor and panel chair

    She is a researcher at UNAM's Institute of Physics and a professor at the Faculty of Sciences; she chairs UNESCO's Global Open Science Steering Committee and the UN Independent Scientific Panel on Effects of Nuclear War. In February 2026, she and Luis de la Peña present Quantum Mechanics: A Physical Approach, a 19-chapter book that explains formal and practical aspects of quantum mechanics.

Career

  1. Since 1966National Autonomous University of MexicoTeacher of physics
  2. NowUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationChair
  3. NowUnited NationsChair
  4. 2022Global Partnership on AICoordinator of Mexico's experts
  5. 2003–2010International Atomic Energy AgencyDeputy Director General
  6. 1997–2002Pugwash Conferences on Science and World AffairsChair
  7. From 1995LatindexFounder
  8. 1969–2026Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
  9. International Science CouncilSecretary General

Education

  1. 1971National Autonomous University of MexicoPhD in physics
  2. Harvard UniversityMaster's in biophysics

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Excellence or quality? Impact of the current competition regime on science and scientific publishing in Latin America and its implications for development2013 · Current Sociology · 278 citations
  2. The Quantum Dice: An Introduction to Stochastic Electrodynamics2014 · Medical Entomology and Zoology · 230 citations
  3. The Quantum Dice1996 · Springer eBooks · 160 citations
  4. The Emerging Quantum2014 · Springer eBooks · 125 citations
  5. Derivation of quantum mechanics from stochastic electrodynamics1977 · Journal of Mathematical Physics · 69 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

  1. 14% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Ana María Cetto. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after their doctorate, and how the timing changed across cohorts.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers rose from 3% to 32%Includes United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. We estimate where leading AI researchers worked when their most-cited papers appeared. The company share rose from 3% in 1975–1979 to 32% in 2020–2024.
  3. We identify 21 researchers who took public roles and 21 who held advisory or committee seatsIncludes United Nations. We identify 21 researchers who took public roles and 21 who held advisory or committee seats. We separate official public roles, advisory seats and other public activity, and trace moves into AI organizations or research.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Harvard University. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Ana María Cetto yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. ¿Quién es?: Ana María Cetto comoves.unam.mx. Checked 18 October 2026.
  2. Pionera en física, profesora por vocación gaceta.unam.mx. Checked 18 October 2026.
  3. Latindex y el Acceso Abierto revista.unam.mx. Checked 18 October 2026.
  4. Ana María Cetto (Mexico, 1946) unesco.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  5. ¿Quién es? 49: Ana María Cetto comoves.unam.mx. Checked 18 October 2026.
  6. Responsable, ética e inclusiva, deberes de inteligencia artificial gaceta.unam.mx. Checked 18 October 2026.
  7. Ana María Cetto's dedication to science outreach earns her UNESCO–Kalinga Prize unesco.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  8. Ana María Cetto awarded the 2025 John Torrence Tate Medal for Leadership, Ethics and Peace in Physics iupap.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  9. NPT side event: Effects of a Nuclear War pugwash.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  10. Ciencia abierta: De la Recomendación a la acción openlearning.unesco.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  11. Los físicos Ana María Cetto y Luis de la Peña presentan su nueva obra fundamental sobre Mecánica Cuántica pagina.fciencias.unam.mx. Checked 18 October 2026.