Also available in: Español (Spanish) Euskara (Basque)
At the end of 2024, the resolution of the ATRAE 2024 call was published, the program to incentivate the incorporation of established research talent into the Spanish system. In that call, I was awarded a grant to start the Milgatz project at the Center for Astrobiology (CAB) of the CSIC-INTA.
The objective of Milgatz is to conduct panoramic surveys of distant galaxies at millimeter wavelengths with the TolTEC camera, located on the 50m Alfonso Serrano Large Millimeter Telescope in Mexico (LMT/GTM). The TolTEC camera has already approved two legacy surveys to create maps of up to 60 square degrees of the sky, providing us with several hundred thousand dusty star-forming galaxies.
Milgatz is an acronym composed of references to the survey’s millimeter wavelength (mil), 1000 in Spanish, or mila in Basque, galaxies (ga), TolTEC for t, and high redshift for z, the universally adopted technical abbreviation in astrophysics. “Gatz” means salt in Basque, but also vivacity, sagacity, and wit, a connotation also common in Spanish. Since the TolTEC censuses will uncover thousands of galaxies, the project logo is this salt shaker that serves galaxies to the observer. My friend “Jaio the Spy,” cultural activist par excellence in Bilbao and its surroundings, is the creator of the logo.
In June 2025, I have published an announcement for the pre-selection of students who want to begin their doctoral theses with a predoctoral contract at CAB to work on Milgatz: SEA announcement. The selection process will be conducted through the CSIC job registry, where interested candidates should apply.
I expect to announce a contract opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher in 2026 too.
