¡Hola! 👋🏼 I'm Dr. Tomás Cassanelli, Astronomer and Assistant Professor of Astronomical Instrumentation

About Me

I'm an Assistant Prof. of astronomical instrumentation at the Facultad Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas (FCFM) at Universidad de Chile (UChile). I completed my PhD studies at David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto (UofT), Canada. Prior to starting my PhD, I completed an Astrophysics MSc at Universität Bonn and Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR), Germany; as well as an Applied Physics and Mechanical Engineering BSc at Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), Chile.

Research

My primary lines of research are radio--optical sub-second transients 💥 and their localization, very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), radio--optical astronomical instrumentation, optical fast photon counters, and holography for radio telescopes 📡 (from centimeter to sub-millimeter wavelengths). My PhD thesis focused on the detection of fast radio bursts (FRBs) with VLBI using a 3000 km baseline from British Columbia to Ontario using telescopes at the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and the Algonquin Radio Observatory (ARO). I'm a member of the Millimeter-Wave Laboratory, the CHIME/FRB Collaboration, and adjunct member of the Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies. You can find my CV here and institutional biosketch here.

My research group is AstroLab: a multi-disciplinary team based at UChile. We are faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students, working together towards undestanding astronomical instrumentation and transient events. To learn more about our local projects (e.g., the Canadian-Chilean array for radio transient studies; CHARTS) and international collaborations visit our website: AstroLab

AstroLab research group

Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope

Algonquin radio 10-m dish

Test sub-mm band ALMA

Gemini South 8.1-m dish

ALMA 12-m radio dish

Collaboration network

Select Recent Science Publications

ORCID iD icon0000-0003-2047-5276
2025 T. Cassanelli, P. Marcone-Puga, G. Naletto, et al IQUEYE at Gemini South: instrument, science commission, and first results SPIE
2025 T. Cassanelli, J. Mena-Parra, S. Manosalva, et al Canadian-Chilean Array for Radio Transient Studies (CHARTS): Analog System Developments IEEE
2024 T. Cassanelli, C. Leung, and P. Sanghavi, et al A fast radio burst localized at detection to an edge-on galaxy using very-long-baseline interferometry Nature Astronomy
2024 T. Cassanelli, U. Bach, B. Winkel, et al Out-of-focus holography at the Effelsberg telescope Astronomy & Astrophysics
2022 T. Cassanelli, G. Naletto, G. Codogno, et al New technique for determining a pulsar period: Waterfall principal component analysis Astronomy & Astrophysics
2022 T. Cassanelli, C. Leung, M. Rahman, et al Localizing FRBs through VLBI with the Algonquin Radio Observatory 10-m Telescope The Astronomical Journal
2021 The CHIME/FRB Collaboration et al, incl. T. Cassanelli The First CHIME/FRB Fast Radio Burst Catalog The Astrophysical Journal Supplements
2020 The CHIME/FRB Collaboration et al, incl. T. Cassanelli A bright millisecond-duration radio burst from a Galactic magnetar Nature
For a complete and up-to-date list visit NASA/ADS.

Software

Science Talks

  • FRB2025 Conference (Future directions session)
  • FRB2023 Conference (Discussion: hidden parameter spaces)

Teaching

I have taught a wide range of courses from science (physics and astronomy) to applied engineering (mechanics and electronics), at Universidad de La Frontera, Universidad de Chile, and astronomical instrumentation at the Dunlap Summer School, University of Toronto.

Current courses

Applied Electromagnetism EL3103; Universidad de Chile Lecture notes here
Radio astronomy: applications, tools, and impact EL7053; Universidad de Chile ---

Outreach

  • CATA: El universo efímero (the transient universe; Sep 2025)
  • EMOL: Columnas de astronomía (astronomy columns; 2024--2025)

Media Appearances

Apr 2025 Nuevo fotómetro liderado por chilenos ve su primera luz en Observatorio Gemini Sur
Apr 2025 Nuevo instrumento astronómico liderado por chilenos ve su primera luz en Observatorio Gemini Sur
Mar 2025 IQUEYE on Gemini South Sees First Light
Jan 2025 FCFM lidera investigación científica con siete nuevos proyectos Fondecyt
Dic 2023 Más de 350 millones de pesos en dos proyecto QUIMAL
Jun 2023 Universidad de Chile inaugura cámara anecoica para la investigación de antenas, sensores y sistemas de radiofrecuencias
Sep 2021 Dunlap Institute Graduate student of the month
Nov 2020 Titulado UFRO forma parte de importante hito astrofísico
Nov 2020 Detection of a radio burst in Milky Way could resolve origins of mysterious phenomenon

Contact

email 📧 tcassanelli _at_ ing.uchile.cl

Address

Departamento Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad de Chile, Av. Tupper 2007, Santiago 8370451, Chile.