About Us
Under the southern skies, we welcome a vibrant and diverse community to explore the Universe with Observational Astronomy — pushing scientific boundaries through interdisciplinary collaboration and making Astronomy accessible to all.
Who we are
At the Instituto de Estudios Astrofísicos (IEA) at the Universidad Diego Portales (UDP), we focus on observational astronomy at different wavelengths, taking full advantage of the unparalleled observing facilities available in Chile. We are a diverse, international community studying a wide range of topics — from the minor objects of our own Solar System all the way to high-redshift galaxies.
Our PhD program, which was launched in 2019, currently includes over 20 students from 15 countries, all of whom are fully funded. The faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate students lead projects supported by ANID (Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo) and international collaborations. Our faculty also teaches Undergraduate Astronomy courses, including a three-semester Honorary Diploma program. We are deeply committed to bringing Astronomy to the public, with our active outreach engagement and science initiatives like Inclusive Astronomy, and active participation in media and education.
Meet the team
We are a diverse, gender-balanced group with 11 professors, ~10 postdocs, and ~20 PhD students. Our research spans comets to galaxies, leveraging Chile’s access to the most cutting-edge telescopes. We involve PhD students in research early, fostering international collaborations, and share our passion for astronomy through outreach and education. This has led to us publishing over 120 high-impact articles annually in renowned journals.
Observatories
For our research, we harness a wide range of observatories, from ground-based facilities such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Magellan Telescopes, Gemini Observatory, and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), to space-based telescopes including the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), XMM-Newton, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Swift, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These state-of-the-art instruments enable us to explore the cosmos comprehensively across different wavelengths, and push the boundaries of astronomical research.
Funding Opportunities
Join our team for PhD and postdoctoral opportunities!
Our PhD program has annual calls, while postdocs can access external funding, including programs like FONDECYT, or specific projects with renowned organizations like ALMA-ANID, ESO-Chile, Núcleos Milenio, or CATA. Selection processes vary, so explore how your skills align with our research.