The IAC opens the call for its Winter School focused on key optical technologies for Astronomy

Artistic recreation of the ExoLife Finder (ELF) telescope
Artistic recreation of the ExoLife Finder (ELF) telescope, which will be one of the infrastructures benefiting from LIOM innovations.
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The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has opened the application period for the XXXVI Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, which will be held from 17 to 22 November 2025. This edition will focus on key optical technologies for astronomy, a field that is driving 21st-century discoveries about the Universe. Applications will be accepted until Friday, 13 June.

The IAC’s Winter School is renowned for its educational approach and friendly atmosphere, encouraging direct interaction between students and experts from leading international institutions. This edition will welcome around 50 participants, including advanced Master’s students, PhD candidates, and early-career postdoctoral researchers, offering them a high-level training experience.

This year’s theme is closely connected to the technological development carried out within the Laboratory for Innovation in Opto-Mechanics (LIOM) and the next-generation SMALL ELF telescope, whose advanced optics are being developed at the IAC’s technological division, IACTEC. The 2025 programme will provide a practical introduction to emerging technologies that are transforming astronomical observation, including integrated photonics, precision optics fabrication, space-based optical systems, freeform optics, machine learning and optical communications, among other topics.

These tools are essential to address scientific challenges such as high-contrast imaging of terrestrial planets or understanding the Sun’s magnetic field, opening new frontiers in our exploration of the cosmos.

The academic programme will feature an outstanding lineup of international lecturers including Pradip Gatkine from the University of California who will speak on Photonics in Astronomy; Maud Langlois, from CNRS, who will lecture on Wavefront sensing; Wolfgang Osten from the University of Stuttgart with a talk on Precision optics fabrication; Jannick Rolland from the University of Rochester who will share her expertise on Freeform optics; Andrés Asensio from the IAC who will give a class on Machine learning tools; Pete Worden, from the Breakthrough Foundation, with a lecture on Space optical systems; and Jorge Piris (ESA) on Quantum optical technologies and space.

Lectures will be delivered in English, each lasting 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of discussion, and complemented by hands-on sessions focused on real-world design challenges involving optical components, sensors, and algorithms, in close interaction with the faculty.

In addition to the academic programme, participants will enjoy a number of complementary activities, including a visit to the Teide Observatory on Wednesday, 19 November, and an optional visit to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma on Saturday, 22 November.

Selected candidates will be notified by late June or early July.

More information and registration:

Contact: https://meetings.iac.es/winterschool/2025/pages/about.php

Related news
ExoLife Finder (ELF)
Press release
Initiation of LIOM, the IAC Laboratory for Innovation in Optomechanics
From 13th to 17th of February, in IACTEC, the technical collaboration zone of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, the first scientific meeting of the Laboratory for Innovation in Optomechanics (LIOM) is taking place. This is a project for the development of new optical and mechanical technology which will form part of the next generaton of telescopes, such as the ExoLife Finder (ELF), aimed at the search for life outside the Solar System. The meeting has brought together 30 specialists in optics and photonics from Europe, Canada, and the United States. During the course of this week
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2nd LIOM International Workshop
Press release
LIOM, the IAC's technological laboratory for finding life beyond the Solar System
From 14 to 16 February, the second scientific meeting of the Laboratory for Innovation in Opto-Mechanics (LIOM) will be held at the IACTEC building managed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) in the Science and Technology Park of La Laguna (Tenerife). This project is dedicated to the development of new optical and mechanical technologies that will form part of the next generation of telescopes capable of detecting biomarkers on exoplanets. One year after its creation, the IAC's Laboratory for Innovation in Opto-Mechanics (LIOM), is holding its second international meeting
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News type
Press release
Scope
Science and Technology
Congresses
IACTEC
Postgraduate Training
Astrophysics
Technology
Training
Scientists
Communications media
Telescopes
Research and Development
Large telescopes
LIOM
ELF
Small-ELF

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