PUEBLA, Mexico – New Mexico Tech has officially entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica Y Electronica at the University of Puebla in Mexico.

The Institute, known as INAOE, is world-renowned for its astrophysics research in radio astronomy. The facility includes the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), a 50-meter radio telescope located at an elevation of 15,000 feet in central Mexico. Dr. Van Romero, Vice President of Research at NMT, said the LMT has unique capabilities that are of interested to NMT astrophysicists.

Romero signed the MOU, along with Dr. Leopoldo Altamirano Robles, the President of INAOE. (Pictured) Dr. Juan de Dios Pineda, Associate V.P., and Dave Manzano, NMT government liaison, also attended the meeting in Puebla.

Pineda, who is also the head of NMT’s Latin American Office, said, “I think it’s incredible that people outside of the United States have noticed this great institution in New Mexico. We can improve and diversity our university by offering more opportunities for faculty and students. My office is dedicated to doing that – to build bridges between New Mexico Tech and Latin America.”

Last week’s signing is just the first MOU with a Latin American university. Romero and Pineda are hosting the president of Mexico’s University of Guadalajara on Thursday, May 10, for another MOU signing. That collaboration will focus primarily on hydrology and water issues, which are specialties of both NMT and Guadalajara.

Other areas of research specialization at INAOE include microelectronics, optics, and lasers. In addition to research capabilities, the Institute offers master’s and doctoral degrees. INAOE built its radio telescope in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts. The Institute also has a cosmic ray detector, known as HAWC, or the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory.

Romero said he foresees future collaborations in physics, electrical engineering, and materials engineering. He said electrical engineering faculty member Dr. Rene Arechiga has already begun working with colleagues at Puebla.

Pictured at right (from left) are Ivan Olivera, INAOE International Affairs Director; Van Romero, Juan de Dios Pineda and David Manzano of NMT, David Sanchez de la Llave, INAOE Research Director; and two student researchers.

The Instituto could be a collaborator with NMT’s Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer. Romero said INAOE has a team of people grinding mirrors for use in optical telescopes and could provide optics for the interferometer.

The MOU could lead to student exchanges and dual degree programs between the two universities and other cross-border research projects. To kick start those efforts, the Puebla institute is hosting a weeklong workshop for NMT astrophysics graduate students this summer. NMT will host short summer programs for Puebla students in computer science, physics, and cyber security.

Romero said that Consejo Nacional de Cienca Y Tecnologia, or CONACYT, Mexico’s counterpart of the National Science Foundation in the U.S., has programs to promote and fund international collaborations. He anticipates that INAOE and NMT will pursue funding from CONACYT for research projects.

The MOU comes on the heels of a visit in April by representatives of seven universities from South and Central America. Romero and Pineda said they hope these are the first of many such cooperative agreements with international universities.

– NMT –