The UIS Planetarium has become the training headquarters for the Colombian national team that will represent the country in the 18th International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad, to be held in mid-August in Mumbai, India.
Juan David Landazábal Rangel, Cristian Camilo Echeverri Valencia, Mateo de Jesús Pirela Pulido, and Mario Andrés Guerra Vega are the teenagers who make up the Colombian delegation. The first is a native of Bucaramanga, a recent graduate of Fundación Colegio UIS, and his three teammates are from Barranquilla.
They earned the right to travel to India after being the best in the national qualifying round.
“We have quite high expectations for representing the country. We are in Bucaramanga undergoing intensive training thanks to Professor Juan Carlos Basto, and it has been a wonderful and rewarding experience that has contributed to our knowledge of the things we will be evaluated on at the Olympiad,” said Landazábal Rangel.
There, they will face demanding tests in areas such as theoretical problems, use of instruments, sky recognition, and data analysis.
“This Olympiad is demanding and complicated, so we have been preparing in the best way possible with the support of Professor Basto, Director Goez, and other teachers we have had along the way,” said Mateo de Jesús Pirela Pulido, a native of Barranquilla.
Among this team is Juan Carlos Basto Pineda, professor at the UIS School of Physics, PhD in Astronomy, and member of the Halley Group.
His role will be that of coach and co-leader of the four young people, who, together with director and coach Cristian Goez Therán, will depart for India in two weeks.
