About
I am a Professor of Astronomy at the Institute for Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics of the National University of Mexico (UNAM), Visiting Professor at the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University, and currently Director of the Event Horizon Telescope. I received my Ph.D. in 1998 from Grenoble Alpes University, and have held positions at the Institute for Millimeter Radio Astronomy (IRAM) and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy.
I specialize in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), with a particular focus on VLBI astrometry and on black hole imaging at event-horizon scales. I am lucky to collaborate with a fantastic group of people. More information about my research can be found on LinkedIn, Google Scholar, and NASA ADS, and by following the items in the top menu.
Leadership of the Event Horizon Telescope
I am a founding member of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHTC), established in 2017, which obtained the first images of the supermassive black holes at the centers of the galaxy M87 and of our own Milky Way. Since November 2025, I serve as the Director of the EHT Collaboration, leading an international team of more than 400 scientists across four continents.
Over the years, I have held several other leadership positions within the EHTC, including as chair of its Publication Committee during the exciting times when the first eight M87 papers were being prepared and published, and subsequently as chair of the Calibration and Error Analysis working group.
Selected Publications
- First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
- First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole
- The Gould’s Belt Distances Survey (GOBELINS) II. Distances and Structure toward the Orion Molecular Clouds
- VLBA Determination of the Distance to Nearby Star-forming Regions. IV. A Preliminary Distance to the Proto-Herbig AeBe Star EC 95 in the Serpens Core
- VLBA Determination of the Distance to Nearby Star-forming Regions. I. The Distance to T Tauri with 0.4% Accuracy
See the full publication list or my complete record on NASA ADS.
Awards & Honors
I have been fortunate to receive a number of awards and accolades over the course of my career, including:
- 2024Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professorship (2024–25)Harvard University
- 2023Research PrizeMexican Physics Society
- 2023State Science PrizeICTI, State of Michoacán
- 2022TWAS Prize in Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences
- 2021Group Achievement Award, Royal Astronomical SocietyShared, as a member of the EHT Collaboration
- 2020Einstein MedalShared, as a member of the EHT Collaboration
- 2020Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental PhysicsShared, as a member of the EHT Collaboration
- 2011Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research AwardAlexander von Humboldt Foundation
- 2010Guggenheim Fellowship