162
Ever since we had confirmed the exceptional astronomical quality of the
Canarian skies and realized the possibility of exploiting this natural resource,
we began to develop our own home-grown capacity for the development and
construction of scientific instrumentation. In a sense, technology is an especially valuable by-product of fundamental research, and we wanted it to be so
in Spain as well. I had an uphill struggle with some of the more puristically
minded researchers to get them to understand this. The Canarian sky was also
put to use in the same way. With national industry in mind, we decided that
our Observatories should be not mere observing sites but also generators of
new technology.
In 1974, the University Institute of Astrophysics of the University of La
Laguna having then been recently created, we set up mechanical workshops in
the basement of the Chemistry Tower, and optics and electronics workshops
on the fourth floor. That is how we initiated our present optics, mechanics,
and electronics capacity to realize our aim of designing and building our own
astronomical instrumentation.
Today those early dreams have become a reality. We began by observing
with foreign telescopes and other instruments, but we have now developed
the capacity to build the biggest and most advanced optical–infrared telescope
in the world (see Chap. 21). The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) has a
10.4-m primary mirror. The GTC was designed and developed at the IAC,
and was built mostly in Spain. Consequently, the Spanish companies that
participated in this venture learned a great deal and have built up a substantial
order book for scientific instrumentation. To this we may add another highly
significant fact: there are at present two world-class projects to build large 4-m
telescopes for solar observing, the American ‘Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope’
(DKIST), to be located in Hawaii, and the ‘European Solar Telescope’ (EST),
destined for the Canaries. Both projects are being headed by IAC astrophysicists: Valentín Martínez (DKIST) and Manuel Collados (EST).
To return to the beginning, we began working on astronomical instrumentation as soon as it became possible, precariously of course, but fully cognizant
of our goal, and with will and enthusiasm. When the IAC was born in 1975
and we obtained from the Island Cabildo of Tenerife some land and a number
of uralite huts in which to house the IAC’s departments, we transferred our
primitive Technical Services Department there; it was the forerunner of our
present Instrumentation Division.
But before entering into details I shall relate how we chose to get involved
with technology. When we were certain that modern telescopes would be
brought to the Canaries, there were two opposing tendencies among the few
of us that made up the incipient Astrophysics Institute: there were those of us
F. Sánchez
Ever since we had confirmed the exceptional astronomical quality of the
Canarian skies and realized the possibility of exploiting this natural resource,
we began to develop our own home-grown capacity for the development and
construction of scientific instrumentation. In a sense, technology is an especially valuable by-product of fundamental research, and we wanted it to be so
in Spain as well. I had an uphill struggle with some of the more puristically
minded researchers to get them to understand this. The Canarian sky was also
put to use in the same way. With national industry in mind, we decided that
our Observatories should be not mere observing sites but also generators of
new technology.
In 1974, the University Institute of Astrophysics of the University of La
Laguna having then been recently created, we set up mechanical workshops in
the basement of the Chemistry Tower, and optics and electronics workshops
on the fourth floor. That is how we initiated our present optics, mechanics,
and electronics capacity to realize our aim of designing and building our own
astronomical instrumentation.
Today those early dreams have become a reality. We began by observing
with foreign telescopes and other instruments, but we have now developed
the capacity to build the biggest and most advanced optical–infrared telescope
in the world (see Chap. 21). The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) has a
10.4-m primary mirror. The GTC was designed and developed at the IAC,
and was built mostly in Spain. Consequently, the Spanish companies that
participated in this venture learned a great deal and have built up a substantial
order book for scientific instrumentation. To this we may add another highly
significant fact: there are at present two world-class projects to build large 4-m
telescopes for solar observing, the American ‘Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope’
(DKIST), to be located in Hawaii, and the ‘European Solar Telescope’ (EST),
destined for the Canaries. Both projects are being headed by IAC astrophysicists: Valentín Martínez (DKIST) and Manuel Collados (EST).
To return to the beginning, we began working on astronomical instrumentation as soon as it became possible, precariously of course, but fully cognizant
of our goal, and with will and enthusiasm. When the IAC was born in 1975
and we obtained from the Island Cabildo of Tenerife some land and a number
of uralite huts in which to house the IAC’s departments, we transferred our
primitive Technical Services Department there; it was the forerunner of our
present Instrumentation Division.
But before entering into details I shall relate how we chose to get involved
with technology. When we were certain that modern telescopes would be
brought to the Canaries, there were two opposing tendencies among the few
of us that made up the incipient Astrophysics Institute: there were those of us
F. Sánchez