9503714 Strittmatter This Americas Program award will provide support for establishing collaboration between astronomers at the University of Arizona and the Carnegie Institution of Washington in the United States, and Mexican astronomers from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). The proposed work, headed by Prof. Peter Strittmatter of the University of Arizona and Prof. Gloria Koenigsberger, Director of the Institute of Astronomy of UNAM, has as long term goals the construction of a Magellan class 6.5m optical/infrared telescope which will facilitate astronomical research by Mexican and U.S. astronomers, the development of state-of-the-art instrumentation for this and other such telescopes, and the advancement of optical design and fabrication technology in both Mexico and the U.S. Researchers will visit Mexican sites at UNAM, the Mexican National Observatory at San Pedro Martir, the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics in Puebla, and the Institute for Optics in Leon in order to plan collaborative work, develop a site testing program at San Pedro Martir, carry out critical studies in engineering and optics, and develop active collaboration in astronomical sciences based on existing observational facilities. ***
