About me…

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CV

15th December 2025

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Prof. Itziar Aretxaga

 Distinguished Researcher – CAB CSIC-INTA, Spain
C-class Researcher – INAOE, México (on leave)

Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) CSIC-INTA
Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n 
28692 Villanueva de la Cañada 
Madrid, Spain

Tel: +34 91 813 13 87
iaretxaga @ cab.inta-csic.es

Aretxaga, Itziar

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Citizenship: Spanish/Mexican
Gender: Female
Birthplace: Bilbao, Spain, 20th November, 1965

EDUCATION

1993, PhD, Physics, Univ. Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain
1990, MSc, Physics, Univ. Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain
1988, BSc, Physics, Univ. Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Spain

PROFESIONAL AFFILIATIONS

1993: Spanish Astronomy Society / Sociedad Española de Astronomía (SEA) / European Astronomical Society (EAS)
2000: National Researchers’ System / Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI level III =  Full Professor), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Conacyt), Mexico
2003: Mexican Academy of Sciences / Academia Mexicana de Ciencias (AMC)
2006: International Astronomical Union (IAU)
2016: Mexican Physics Society / Sociedad Mexicana de Física (SMF)
2023: UNESCO’s The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for the Advancement of Science in the Developing World

RESEARCH INTERESTS. Astrophysics and Cosmology: galaxy formation and evolution, active galactic nuclei, starbursts.

POSITIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

2025-: Distinguished Researcher, Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC-INTA, España
2018: Director of the International School for Young Astronomers, IAU.
2016-2018: Deputy Director of the International School for Young Astronomers, IAU.
2015-2018: Treasurer and Member of the Directing Board, Southeastern Region AMC.
2011-2016: Head of the Department of Astrophysics, INAOE, Mexico.
2006-2013: Coordinator, Astronomy Section, AMC, Mexico.
1998: Researcher (current level Full Professor), INAOE, Mexico, tenured since 2004, on leave since 09/2025
1996-1998: Marie Curie Fellow, Max-Planck Institut für Astrophysik, Germany.
1993-1996: Marie Curie & Basque Gov. Research Fellow, Royal Greenwich Obs., UK.
1992-1993: Teaching Assistant, Theoretical Physics Dept., Univ. Autónoma de Madrid,  Spain.

SELECTION OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

• 155 refereed papers in international journals, 16 invited review papers and 58 contributed papers in conference proceedings, 3 chapters of books, 7 books/reports.
• > 9000 citations (NASA’s Astrophysics Data System), with a Hirsch index H=57.
• 74 review/invited talks in conferences and workshops, 81 colloquia in research institutes.
• 11 funded research projects as principal investigator, >20 as co-investigator.
• SOC member of 30+ international conferences (Argentina, China, Colombia, France, Egypt, Ethiopia, Italy, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, S. Korea, USA)
• Project scientist of TolTEC (bolometer camera for 50m LMT), co-investigator of the following science teams: AzTEC (1.1mm camera, 50m LMT), CanariCam (IR camera, 10m-GTC), Cosmology Legacy Survey (SCUBA2), H-ATLAS (Herschel).

SELECTION OF TEACHING ACTIVITIES

• 26 invited lecture courses in IAU schools or other university PhD programs (Argentina, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, USA, Taiwan, Venezuela).
• Lecturer of 28 MSc/PhD courses at INAOE (1998-2025) and 5 BSc courses as assisting professor at UAM-Spain (1989-1993), as member of staff.
• (Co-)/supervisor of 8 PhD, 8 MSc, 3 BSc theses and 17 BSc research projects.
• Director of 12 IAU International Schools for Young Astronomers (Inc. INAOE, 2005).

SELECTION OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

• Co-author (compiler, editor and translator) of the book “The Large Millimeter Telescope: Neighbors Explore the Cosmos” (in English & Spanish)
• 24 science-popularization papers in printed media (in Spanish & Basque).
• 92 science-popularization talks (in Spanish & Basque).
• Frequent interviews to the national and international press.

SELECTION OF COMMITTEE WORK

• Guest editor, Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 64 (2026)
• Coordinator/coauthor of Conacyt-PILA plan “Nature of the Universe” (2014-2018).
• (Co-)author of reports on the state of astronomy research in Mexico (Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, Colegio Nacional, Mexico 2008, 2010, 2013), and of research-project evaluation in Mexico (FCCyT 2014).
• Researchers hiring/assessment: SNI (Mexico, 2014, 2018-2021, chair 2020), Hubble Fellows (USA, 2014), Ramón y Cajal Fellows (Spain, 2013), universities/institutes in Mexico, USA.
• Member, CONACYT committees for funding of basic science (Mexico, 2009, 2010).
• Frequent referee/evaluator of peer-reviewed research journals (MNRAS, ApJ, A&A), MSc/PhD theses (Mexico, USA, Spain), science funding agencies (Argentina, Canada, The Netherlands, Mexico, Spain), and TACs (Germany, Spain, UK).
• Time Allocation Committees (TACs): JWST (2023, 2024), ALMA (2019), Hubble Space Telescope (1999, 2004-2006, 2011, 2017, 2018), Canary Island telescopes (2005), 10-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (cochair 2008-2013), OAGH-INAOE (chair 2005-2006).