Space for all: “The people here are a joy to work with”

May 24, 2023 | News | 0 comments

Tags: ALMA

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Last May 21 was World Day for Cultural Diversity, a significant date for an observatory like ours, where the international exchange that takes place every day is a source of pride and one of the reasons for our achievements at ALMA.

Thus we find a Canadian in the extended control room, a Croatian working on the transporters, a Frenchwoman in antenna maintenance or a Japanese working with the Front End.

“The people here are a joy to work with”
Gerald Schieven, is part of the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Center in Canada. Before the pandemic he came 2 to 3 times per year, and now he is coming again, but to his surprise, no longer at the OSF, but for the first time as an Astronomer-on-Duty in the extended control room in Santiago.

“I love coming here, especially to the OSF. The wildlife and terrain are absolutely stunning, and I have enjoyed exploring the area on hours off. The people here are a joy to work with. I’m always very impressed at how dedicated and helpful everyone is,” assures Gerald.

“I love the yes-we-can-do-it attitude”
A similar experience Martina Tansek, a Croatian who works as ESO’s Technical Lead for its transporters, has had. “I’m a science fiction fan, so when my family asked me how it was to work in the middle of the desert at ALMA, I said I felt like being on one of the Star-Trek ships. Corny, but I feel that way”, confesses Martina.

In mid-March she came to Chile for the second time to supervise a large maintenance project on one of its transporters (Lore), in addition to monitoring the operation of the European antennas.

“My experience here has been great! It has reminded me of the kind of people I grew up with: kind, warm-hearted, knowledgeable and capable. I feel very good when I’m here and I love the yes-we-can-do-it attitude,'” Martina adds.

Martina’s visit is joined by Caroline Jaillot, a French colleague who has been working on the maintenance of ESO’s antennas since September 2021. She is already on her sixth visit to Chile. “My experience here has been Interesting, I have learned a lot with the people working at ALMA”.
“I would like to become a liaison to bring Chilean and Japanese engineers closer together”
Our colleagues from North America and Europe are joined by those from East Asia. Coming from Tokyo, the Japanese NAOJ engineer, Tetsuya Ito, arrived at our observatory a year ago to work on Front End maintenance.

“Being here makes me realize I’m participating in a large international project. I am happy that the receivers I tuned are being used for scientific observations and are leading to a new discovery in astronomy,” says Tetsuya.

A lover of gastronomy, Tetsuya spends his free time sampling Chilean cuisine and visiting authentic Japanese restaurants in Santiago. But in his time in Chile he also aspires to improve his Spanish, to be a bridge between his country and our observatory.

“There is a 13-hour time difference, so it is difficult to hold regular meetings with Japanese and Chilean staff, but I would like to become a liaison to bring Chilean and Japanese engineers closer together,” Tetsuya concludes.

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