Outreach

Workshop in Optics and Space

Santa María Tonantzintla, Puebla, November 28, 2023. Exploring the possibilities of Optics in the development of space sciences and technologies was one of the objectives of the Workshop on Optics and Space, which took place from November 27 to November 29 at the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), center of the National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (Conahcyt).

This event was organized by the student chapters of OPTICA, SPIE and IEEE at the INAOE, as well as by students from the Astrophysics Coordination. That is, it brought together students from practically all areas of the Institute.
The Workshop program, which was offered in a hybrid format, was made up of keynote lectures.
Among the invited speakers were Dr. Teresa Kurtukian Nieto, from the Institute of Structure of Matter (IEM) of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) of Spain; Dr. Ana Virginia Hanessian de la Garza, from GomSpace, Colombia; Dr. Andrés Mora, from NASA Ames Research Center, and doctors Aurelio Heredia Jiménez and Héctor Vargas Martínez and Master of Science Charles Galindo Jr, from UPAEP.
Doctors Alejandro Cornejo, Esperanza Carrasco, Abraham Luna and Rafael Izazaga, from the INAOE, also gave keynote talks. Dr. Fermín Granados gave a practical workshop on telescopes and the basic notions of optical design.
In an interview, Rebeca Bruzual, one of the organizers of the Workshop, reported that the Workshop talks sought to relate Optics with different parts of space research.
“We want students to learn about all optical applications and also network with researchers from different institutions. In the program we have researchers from home and also from UPAEP, and researchers from Spain and a guest from NASA,” she said.
In relation to the program, Edgar Platas, who is also part of the organizing committee, reported that eight keynote lectures were offered, as well as a telescope workshop, a visit to the Optics Workshop, a poster contest and an astronomical observation. “We closed with the awarding of the posters at the Guillermo Haro Museum,” he noted.
For his part, Fabián Cubillos reported that 60 students from INAOE, BUAP, and UDLAP participated in the workshop, both in person and online.
For more information consult chaptersoptica.wixsite.com/wos2023