Ruth Murray-Clay is a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz who studies the formation of planetary systems.

In September 2014 she joined University of California, Santa Barbara where she held the title of assistant professor of physics.

[4] In 2008, Murray-Clay received the Mary Elizabeth Uhl Prize[5] for her dissertation work done while at University of California, Berkeley.

[7][8] Murray-Clay came into the public spotlight in 2015 after BuzzFeed released a story[9] detailing astronomer Geoffrey Marcy's sexual harassment of women and the university's apparent inaction, ultimately leading to Marcy's resignation.

[9][12] Her involvement is credited with helping to bring attention to sexual harassment in the field of astronomy.