Centre Basal CATA

The Centro de Astronomía y Tecnologías Afines (Center for Astronomy and Related Technologies), better known by its acronym CATA, is a collaborative project among many different institutions in Chile to enable research to be carried out in observational and theoretical astrophysics, as well as in the development of astronomical instrumentation and computational algorithms, and the application of these technologies in other areas. Faculty at UDP have joined this project starting from its latest renewal for the 2021-2026 period.

The project is divided into 8 areas of research. Prof. James Jenkins is a principal investigator in Area 6, Exoplanets and Astrobiology, and Prof. Roberto Assef is a principal investigator of Area 3, Galaxies, and Area 2, AGN and High Energy Phenomena. Profs. Manuel Aravena, Evelyn Johnston, and Claudio Ricci are associate researchers of the center also. Along with many postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D students, the center will carry out cutting-edge research in all of these areas, both by making use of the unique observational resources within the country, and by hosting High-Performance Computing clusters dedicated to astronomical research.

contact person: Roberto Assef and James Jenkins