Research focuses on radio telescopes
Based at an altitude of 5 000 m in a Chilean plateau, ALMA is an international collaboration between Europe, East Asia and North America in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. It is one of the largest astronomical project of the next decade, with an array of 66 antennas spread over an area 16 km in diameter. An EU-funded fellowship project, the 'ESO fellowship programme for ALMA' (ESO-FEL-ALMA08), has enabled early-career researchers to gain experience and expertise working with the ALMA facilities. In total, 39 researchers from 16 countries benefited from the programme between 2009 and 2013, hosted by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). They participated in international scientific events and published on average 10 publications each. All of the young researchers who completed the programme have secured positions in national astronomical institutes and universities. ESO is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy, supported by 14 European countries. The fellowship project has ensured that its human resources in the field of radio astronomy are as adapted and developed as its revolutionary new technologies.