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CfAI Highlights

News, Events and Highlights

Explore below to see whats happening in CfAI. The CfAI list of publications can be found on ADS.

Advancing Metal Optics for Space Systems

The results of this project demonstrate that lightweight, space-grade housing with complex geometries can be realised through additive manufacturing.
Advancing Metal Optics for Space Systems

World Space Week

Researchers from CfAI were at the Centre for Life in Newcastle on Saturday, 5th October, for World Space Week to present an experiment on the theme “Space & Climate”.
World Space Week

ESTRELLAS: Women in Tech & Sciences

CfAI celebrates ESTRELLAS: Women in Tech & Sciences On the 20th of September we celebrate ESTRELLAS: Women in Tech & Sciences at Durham University.
Poster for ESTRELLAS: Women in Tech & Sciences

CfAI PhD poster lunch

On the 24th of July 2024 the CfAI PhD students did a great job producing posters and presenting them to members of the group
CfAI PhD poster lunch

Little iLocater: paving the way for iLocater

First light of Little iLocator spectrograph at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)
First iLocater spectra

Wavefront Sensing in the VLT/ELT Era VIII Workshop

The Wavefront Sensing in the VLT/ELT Era VIII Workshop is being held this year at Durham University from the 23rd to the 25th to September.
Wavefront Sensing in the VLT/ELT Era VIII Workshop logo

Ariadna Calcines Rosario, Best Oral Presentation Prize

Ariadna Calcines Rosario, CfAI Head of Optical Design, Awarded the Best Oral Presentation at the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation Conference
Ariadna best talk award

Space Optics workshop 2024

We were delighted to host the Space Optics: Systems and Applications workshop 2024 here in Durham.
Space Optics event invited speakers

METIS Integral Field Unit for the Extremely Large Telescope.

Today, we bid farewell to the METIS Integral Field Unit pupil mirror array, crafted from 28 meticulously designed slices and a composite planar fold mirror.
METIS Integral Field Unit pupil mirror array for the Extremely Large Telescope

Royal Astronomical Society Group Achievement Award for JWST-MIRI Team

The Royal Astronomical Society has awarded the RAS Group Achievement Award 2024 to the team of the instrument MIRI for the JWST.
Image of Cas A from JWST

CfAI would like to welcome Dr. Robert J. Harris (Rob) back!

Dr. Rob Harris joins CfAI as Assistant Professor in Astrophotonics
Photo of Rob Harris

Spotlight on satellites

Our dedicated team of CfAI staff actively engaged in the 'Spotlight on... Satellites' event, hosted at the Centre for Life in the heart of Newcastle
Spotlight on satellites outreach team

Space Applications Summer School 2023

CfAI hosted the first Postgraduate Summer School on Space applications in Science and Industry funded by STFC
Space Summer School poster

CfAI optics shed light on the unusual carbon balance at Mars

CfAI has participated in the optics for the NOMAD instrument, a crucial component of the TGO missions and that this instrument is making groundbreaking discoveries.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)

Our pioneering projects in solar and space technologies awarded funding from UK Space Agency

Our scientists and engineers are at the forefront of global innovation. Experts from our world-leading Physics Department are leading on two pioneering projects.
ray tracing diagram of Compact Three Mirror Anastigmat telescope for CubeSat free-space communications

Durham University and Viasat Collaborate to Advance Free-Space Optical Communications Networks

Leveraging a £200k investment from Viasat, Durham University will focus on developing free-space optics (FSO) turbulence channel characterisation for optical feeder links

European AO Summer School

We are pleased to announce that registration is open for the 2023 European Adaptive Optics Summer School.
European AO summer school poster

CfAI researcher Ryan Griffiths is invited to AO4ELT

Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes is the largest conference in the field. 6 CfAI researchers will be presenting their work this year.
Ryan Griffiths photo

FOAMAS 2023

CfAI members will participate to a workshop in Chiang-Mai Thailand organised by NARIT on Freeform Optics between the 27th and 30th of May 2023.
Poster for freeform optics workshop in Thailand

Katy Hartley is interviewed for TvCanaria

CfAI's Katy Hartley has been interviewed by TvCanaria, for her ground-breaking work demonstrating the first on-sky scintillation correction.
Katy Hartley

CfAI's Lily Westerby-Griffin and Fionagh Thomson talk about astronomical instrumentation with Durham University Orchestral Society

Durham University Orchestral Society collaborated with the Durham Physics astronomer’s and instrument scientists in a performance of Holst’s The Planet Suites.
CfAI PhD student talks about instrumentation with Durham Orchestra in support

CfAI Senior Optical Engineer awarded Young Female Scientist Talent of Spain 2022

Dr Ariadna Calcines awarded the Young Female Scientist Talent Prize is awarded by the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain.

COAT 2023

Communication and Observations through Atmospheric Turbulence conference to be held in Durham, March 2023
COAT conference logo

SHIMM at Paranal

Lisa Bardou and Ryan Griffiths test the SHIMM instrument at Paranal, Chile