Educado Network

11/09/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Andrea, who has just completed his secondment at NYU, working under the guidance of Prof. Yann LeCun!

During his time in New York, Andrea explored self-supervised learning techniques for object detection in astronomical images, bringing together the exciting fields of AI and astronomy. 🌌🤖

He also fostered collaborations with researchers at NYU Courant and the NYU Center for Data Science, helping to build bridges between cutting-edge artificial intelligence and astronomical research.

We congratulate Andrea on this exciting experience and wish him continued success in his research! 🇺🇸✨

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07/09/2026

One of our doctoral candidates from the presented his latest research at the 3rd International Conference on Machine Learning for Astrophysics (ML4ASTRO3), held at the University of Malta from 31 August to 4 September.

DC04 Simone Vilardi, University of Groningen, delivered a flash talk titled “Hub-Aware Hybrid Search: Accelerating the Locally Aligned Ant Technique.”

His talk presented results from his published work on improving the Locally Aligned Ant Technique (LAAT), a biologically inspired method designed to detect manifold structures such as filaments, streams, walls and clusters in noisy, high-dimensional datasets.

The method demonstrates improved detection efficiency and robustness on both synthetic datasets and a large-scale astronomical N-body simulation of the cosmic web.

The work presented at ML4ASTRO3 was published in the ESANN 2026 conference proceedings as “Hub-Aware Hybrid Search: Accelerating the Locally Aligned Ant Technique.”

Paper: https://doi.org/10.14428/esann/2026.ES2026-110
ML4ASTRO3: https://indico.ict.inaf.it/event/3460/

07/09/2026

One of our Doctoral Candidates from the recently attended COSMO-26, the 29th International Conference on Particle Physics & Cosmology, hosted by Leiden University from August 24-28.

DC04 Simone Vilardi, University of Groningen, joined researchers from the international cosmology and particle physics community for a week of discussions on some of the latest developments in the field.

Topics covered included dark matter, large-scale structure and weak gravitational lensing, dark energy and modified gravity, the early Universe, the CMB, gravitational-wave cosmology and statistical inference in cosmology.

Participation in COSMO-26 provided an opportunity to follow current developments in cosmology, exchange ideas with researchers from different backgrounds and explore connections with ongoing work within the Educado network.

For more information about the conference, visit:
https://cosmo-26.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/

07/09/2026

DC01 and her team have reported the serendipitous discovery of an almost-dark galaxy, TTT J1237327+143535, found in observations taken with the Two-meter Twin Telescope at the Teide Observatory.

The study, “Serendipitous discovery of an almost-dark galaxy in the Virgo Cluster,” has been accepted for publication in A&A Letters and has now also been featured by the Spanish popular science magazine Muy Interesante.

Read the Muy Interesante article: https://muyinteresante.okdiario.com/ciencia/descubrimiento-galaxia-casi-oscura-cumulo-virgo.html

Tiene el tamaño de una galaxia enana y apenas dos millones de masas solares en estrellas. Su centro brilla menos que el propio cielo nocturno del observatorio que la encontró.

30/07/2026

Advancing expertise through specialised training and scientific exchange

As part of the EDUCADO Network dissemination and training activities, DC01, Minh Ngoc Le from IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, participated in the workshop "Surface Brightness Fluctuations: Methods and Applications", hosted by INAF from 20–23 July 2026.

The workshop provided an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the Surface Brightness Fluctuation (SBF) technique, a powerful method for measuring distances to galaxies. During the event, DC01 learned to use the distance-measurement pipeline developed by researchers at INAF Teramo, acquiring valuable expertise that will contribute to her PhD research on low surface brightness galaxies.

In addition to the training sessions, DC01 presented her latest research on an almost-dark galaxy discovered with the Two-meter Twin Telescope (TTT) at the Teide Observatory. The work, which has recently been submitted for publication, generated engaging discussions with researchers attending the workshop and highlighted the scientific potential of combining deep imaging with accurate distance measurements.

By participating in specialised workshops such as this, the EDUCADO Network continues to support its doctoral candidates in acquiring new skills, fostering international collaborations, and expanding their scientific expertise through interactions with leading researchers across Europe.

📍 Dissemination Activity: Surface Brightness Fluctuations Workshop
📅 Date: 20–23 July 2026
🏛️ Host Institution: INAF
🔗 https://lnkd.in/d_ztnQDd

30/07/2026

Fostering collaboration in preparation for the Rubin LSST era

As part of the EDUCADO Network dissemination activities, DC01, Minh Ngoc Le from IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, visited the University of Arizona's Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory on May 11–12, 2026, to present her research and strengthen collaborations within the international astronomical community.

During the visit, Minh Ngoc delivered a seminar entitled "Low Surface Brightness Hunting: Pathfinder to the Rubin LSST Era" to members of the LIGHTS Collaboration and researchers at the Steward Observatory. Her presentation focused on the development of methodologies for detecting low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies using the LIGHTS Survey, and how these approaches pave the way for future discoveries with the Rubin LSST survey.

The visit was an opportunity to meet in person with her long-term collaborator, Prof. Dennis Zaritsky, and other members of the LIGHTS Collaboration. Hosted at the Steward Observatory—home to operations supporting the Large Binocular Telescope, which has been used to observe LIGHTS galaxies—the discussions focused on ongoing collaboration, scientific results, and future research directions.

In addition, DC01 met with students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members interested in low surface brightness science and her detection methods. She also visited NSF NOIRLab, where she engaged with researchers working on complementary areas of astronomical surveys and observational astrophysics.

These dissemination activities exemplify the EDUCADO Network's commitment to promoting international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the professional development of its doctoral candidates as they contribute to the next generation of astronomical research.

📍 Dissemination Activity: Visit LIGHTS Collaborators at the University of Arizona
📅 Date: May 11–12, 2026
🏛️ Host Institution: University of Arizona – Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory
🔗 https://astro.arizona.edu/

30/07/2026

🌟 EDUCADO Network Dissemination Activity | Visiting SLAC, Stanford 🌟

From May 13–15, our DC01, Minh Ngoc Le, visited the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (Stanford) as part of the EDUCADO Network dissemination activities.

During the visit, DC01 delivered a research seminar to SLAC researchers and members of the Rubin LSST Science Collaboration, presenting work on searching for low surface brightness (LSB) objects using the LIGHTS Survey. The talk highlighted how the developed methodology can be applied to the upcoming Rubin LSST large and deep sky survey, whose 10-year co-added observations share similar characteristics with the LIGHTS data, opening exciting opportunities for discovering faint and diffuse galaxies.

The visit also provided valuable opportunities for scientific discussions and collaboration. DC01 met with Prof. Phil Marshall, Deputy Director of Operations of the Rubin Observatory, as well as other researchers working with Rubin data and those interested in the low surface brightness universe. These exchanges fostered new ideas and strengthened connections within the Rubin community ahead of the survey's scientific era.

We thank SLAC for the warm welcome and the engaging scientific discussions. We look forward to continued collaboration in advancing low surface brightness science with Rubin LSST.

📍 Dissemination Activity: Visiting SLAC, Stanford
📅 Date: May 13–15
🏛️ Institution: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory – Science and User Support Building
🔗 More about the visit: https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/media/30830387536a94c98216bkjpg

24/07/2026

Exploring world-class astronomy together! 🌌

As part of the EDUCADO and EXGAL-Twin Projects, we had the opportunity to visit the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) with Dr. Yerlan Aimuratov (Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute, Almaty, Kazachstan), alongside Prof. Johan Knapen (Principal Investigator of EDUCADO and EXGAL-Twin), Valentina Fontirroig (doctoral candidate), and Dahimar Sánchez (Project Manager of EDUCADO) from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).

The visit was an inspiring experience, providing valuable insights into some of the world's leading astronomical facilities and strengthening collaboration within our international partnership.

A special thank you to the teams at Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), NOT (Nordic Optical Telescope), and the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) for their warm welcome and for giving us the opportunity to learn more about their outstanding scientific and technological work.

24/07/2026

Thanks to Patricia Iglesias Navarro from IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and part of the ExGal-Twin: Excellence in Galaxies - Twinning the IAC team, who took the stage at EAS 2026 in Lausanne, Switzerland (2 July) to share the story of AstroTragos - AoT Canarias – Astronomy on Tap Canarias 🌌🇮🇨

AstroTragos is developed in collaboration with Marina Dunn and Minh Ngoc Le from and is part of ExGal-Twin's outreach activities, with one clear mission: bringing astronomy closer to everyone.

✨ Want to know more or join an event near you?
👉 Link in bio or visit: https://astronomyontap.org/locations/canary-islands-spain/

24/07/2026

🎓✨ Inspiring the next generation of scientists and innovators!

From EDUCADO NETWORK DC11, Dario Barone from the University of Birmingham, recently delivered an engaging lecture to 70 high school students titled "How do machines actually learn?" 🤖💡

The session introduced students to the fundamental concepts of how algorithms "learn" and encouraged them to think critically about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and its growing impact on our everyday lives.

At EDUCADO, we are proud to support outreach activities that make cutting-edge research accessible to young minds and inspire curiosity about science and technology.

👏 Well done, Dario, for sharing your knowledge and encouraging the next generation to explore the exciting world of AI!