Planning & Coordination: connecting teams to move ALMA forward
In an environment as dynamic as ALMA, where multiple critical activities occur in parallel, the Planning & Coordination area plays a key role in ensuring that everything runs safely, smoothly, and in line with the observatory's priorities. The team, made up of Stefan Gairing and Octavio Hernández, both Planner/Coordinator...
Do you Recommend?: Juan Carlos Rojas
"The adventurous spirit of Juan Carlos Rojas, our Mechanical Operator, goes hand in hand with something essential: care. Precisely that was the award he received in our last ALMA Fundamental Statements Awards. "Without a doubt, it is a milestone in my career that I will always...
Shutdown: the blackout that energizes 2024 at ALMA
The arid soil of the Chajnantor plain turns white when the altiplanic winter arrives. Thunderstorms can also be part of this climatic phenomenon that causes unfavorable conditions for observation. Therefore, ALMA takes advantage of this period every year to perform maintenance on the OSF and the...
Internships that contribute to ALMA
At ALMA, internships make their own discoveries. Six young people have found a way to contribute their professional practice to the world's largest observatory. Francisco Ortiz, Valentina Rodríguez, Camilo González, Dante Zunino, Matías Ávila and Luciana Fuenzalida have contributed, either in the Atacama Desert or from...
Women who inspire new generations to push their limits
While disassembling computers as a teenager, Camila Martínez discovered a passion that brought her closer to the stars. "It was my family's technique," smiles our engineer from the ALMA Computing Department's Software team on the eve of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science...
Francisco Fuentes: everyone’s friend
"I've got you the latest". That's what Francisco Fuentes used to say to his colleagues every time he came on shift, accompanied by "I had to go back to work, I didn't win the lottery". And that was his trademark: to cheer up with his humor...
The eyes of Chajnantor: our AOS photographers
Carlos González was just a kid when he watched his dad use his analog camera and all he wanted to do was put his eye behind the lens. "It's like a piece of clockwork. I would grab his camera and try to take pictures, as if...