With the purpose of promoting interest in research, three students from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, UAI, winners as the best projects of the Workshop on Directed Research (TID), visited the Las Campanas Observatory, LCO. Josefina Parada, Edel Fernández and Jorge Petit-Laurent were received by the Director of LCO, Leopoldo Infante, who told them about the history of the Carnegie Observatories and their impact on Chilean and world astronomy, and led them on a tour of the facilities.
"Academic visits from Chilean universities are always very welcome at the observatory, especially from this group as we have a long tradition of collaboration with UAI academics. As an international professional observatory, we are interested in strengthening ties with the astronomical research community in Chile, especially with students, as Carnegie provides the Chilean astronomical community with 10% of the observing time on all telescopes. The UAI is developing a Data Observatory. There is no doubt that in order to develop the astronomical data archive there is a potential synergy between both institutions", said Leopoldo Infante.
Alexi del Canto, Executive Director of Research of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences of the UAI said that the university always seeks that students have experiences that enhance their desire to investigate and test their knowledge, so this visit was an incredible experience that they will remember forever.
Josefina Parada, a Civil Computer Engineering student, commented that her experience at the site was mind-blowing. "I have always been a fan of astronomy and until a few years ago it was just a hobby, so getting to know the telescopes, and being able to size the sizes of each mirror was amazing, a magnificent experience. I have done three research projects in astronomy and currently my master's thesis is on exoplanets, so getting to know the Las Campanas Observatory made me feel closer to my research and astronomical observation," she said.
Source: UAI