Tandem Agreement with Valparaiso University Signed

20. Oktober 2015
Recently, an agreement was signed between the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy (IFA) of the University of Valparaiso (UV), Chile, to set up the first Tandem-Group in the field of Astronomy in Chile.

The cooperation agreement was signed by the Rector of the University of Valparaiso, Aldo Valle, and the Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg, Thomas Henning. The ceremony in Chile was also attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of the UV, Juan Kuznar, the head of the UV-doctoral program in Astrophysics, Matthias Schreiber, the General Secretary of the UV, Osvaldo Corrales, as well as by researchers and students.

It is the first agreement of its kind in the research field of Planet- and Star Formation between a renowned German institution and a Chilean university. This first stage of the agreement will strengthen general cooperation in the field of exoplanets, planet formation and numerical astrophysics. The University of Valparaiso is the only university in Chile which has previously established a similar connection to the Max Planck Society (MPG) in the life sciences.

The basic function of ​​the tandem agreement is to enable scientists to apply for leadership of a research group with five years duration with a Max Planck Institute as partner.

The agreement is made to not only support research on the formation of planets and stars, but also to open up new opportunities for the exchange of students – i.e. that Chilean students can easily visit the MPIA and vice versa. Both partners should benefit from the resulting improvement in their research networks.

"With this agreement, a research group in Chile will be established and lead by a MPIA tandem group leader, after a careful selection of candidates from around the world," says MPIA director Thomas Henning. "We are looking for the best scientists in the world to do research at the highest level. Anyway, astronomers traditionally have a strong connection to Chile, when one thinks about the outstanding observatories in the northern part of the country."

Furthermore, MPIA´s traditionally important work on the development of high-tech instruments for the biggest telescopes can benefit from this cooperation. The Astronomy Department of Valparaiso University is a very good partner, due to its successful history and scientific excellence.

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