Hi! 👋🏼 I'm Dr. Tomás Cassanelli, Astronomer and Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Chile.
About Me
I'm an Assistant Prof. 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 and sub-millimeter wavelengths). My PhD thesis research focused on the detection of fast radio bursts (FRBs) with VLBI with a 3000 km baseline from British Columbia to Ontario using the telescopes: Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and the Algonquin Radio Observatory (ARO). I belong to FCFM, the Millimeter-Wave Laboratory, and to the CHIME/FRB Collaboration.
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 projects (e.g., the Canadian-Chilean array for radio transient studies; CHARTS) visit our website: AstroLab
100-m Effelsberg telescope (MPIfR) Uni-Bonn
10-m Algonquin radio dish UofT
Test sub-mm band (ALMA) Engineering UFRO
8.1-m Gemini South telescope
12-m radio dish (ALMA) Engineering UFRO
Recent Science Publications
0000-0003-2047-5276Science Talks
- FRB2023 Conference (Discussion: hidden parameter spaces)
- FRB2021 Conference (Breaking news session)
- FRB2020 Conference (Technical developments session)
Teaching
I have taught courses in engineering and physics at Universidad de La Frontera and Universidad de Chile. I have also led practical experiences and laboratories at the Dunlap Summer School 2019--2021.
- Applied Electromagnetism (EL3103; online lecture notes Spanish only)
- Radio astronomy: applications, tools, and impact (EL6053)
Outreach
- Volunteer at Skype a Scientist (Jan, 2020)
- Other outreach events through Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics: Astronomy on Tap Toronto, Doors Open Toronto, and Space Time Toronto
- ECLIPSE 2020 Universidad de La Frontera (Spanish only): El Radio Universo Desconocido (The Uknown Radio Universe)
Media Appearances
- Más de 350 millones de pesos en dos proyecto QUIMAL (Dic, 2023)
- Universidad de Chile inaugura cámara anecoica para la investigación de antenas, sensores y sistemas de radiofrecuencias (Jun, 2023)
- Dunlap Institute Graduate student of the month (Sep, 2021)
- Titulado UFRO forma parte de importante hito astrofísico (Nov, 2020)
- Detection of a radio burst in Milky Way could resolve origins of mysterious phenomenon (Nov, 2020)
Contact
You can contact me through email 📧 at tcassanelli@ing.uchile.cl