What a tremendous and emotional year we are closing in ALMA!

The tribute to Francisco Fuentes captivated us all at the beginning of 2024. The ‘friend of all’ left a mark with his departure on 23 January at 66. His humor and companionship will live on in ALMA. 

‘I came for 3 years and stayed for 15,’ said Bill Dent in his farewell in September. Our System Astronomer received the affection of his colleagues and the entire institution in his farewell, which was another significant milestone of 2024.

From Internal Communications we built and told diverse and enriching stories such as the celebration of 10 years of ALMA in the voice of Francisco Pino, we relived special moments with photographs in AOS and we kept up to date with the Cybersecurity Team, topics that aroused great interest in our community.

The Chajnantor Working Group took us to the cutting edge of astronomy, and the ‘Do You Recommend?’ section brought us closer to the life of Marta Allendes our Hospitality Service Coordinator and we got to know the not-so-guilty and guilty pleasures of Juan Carlos Rojas, our Mechanical Operator. Stories that fill us with gratitude and camaraderie.

In 2024 we also showed pride in the 5th anniversary of the discovery of the black hole that put us into global orbit and opened our doors to the public to share the magic of science. In addition, we were thrilled to learn about the energy of the Power Group. This team that allows us to enjoy the smooth running of a coffee machine and maintain the operations of the antennas and the correlator at OSF and AOS.

We ended the year with celebrations in San Pedro de Atacama, the OSF and Santiago, which will remain in our memories and the fun photos we all saw.

2025 is already beginning and from ALMA’s Internal Communications team we want to thank all those who make this institution, the protagonists of 2024, those who left and those who will come.

‘Each one was and will be an essential part of our community. We would like to take this opportunity to wish that in 2025 each of you will reach your personal and professional goals in an environment where collaboration, respect and pride in our work continue to be the driving force of our organisation. May every voice find its place in our organizational culture and we continue to build a strong and united ALMA.