Zermatt Millimeter Telescope - Science and Technical Meeting

→ Europe/Zurich
SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor (Swiss Polar Institute)

SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

Swiss Polar Institute

Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
Ariane Capt (EPFL), Joanna Jermini (LASTRO)
Description

Switzerland is working toward the development of the Zermatt Millimeter Telescope (ZMT). The main goal of the project is to participate in the observations of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, and the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT), while also exploring possible contributions to other international projects and observing networks such as the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA).

The first ZMT Community Meeting will take place from 12 to 13 October 2026 at the Swiss Polar Institute in Sion, Switzerland. It will bring together members of the Swiss scientific community, technical experts, key stakeholders, and external partners. Invited speakers from other telescope projects will share their experience and knowledge, which will help us identify important lessons and possibilities for the ZMT.

During the meeting, we will discuss the science cases of particular interest to the Swiss community and the technical requirements needed to address them. The program will cover the telescope design, frontend and backend systems, site infrastructure, data processing, and the operational challenges of running a millimeter telescope in an Alpine environment.

One of the main outcomes of this first meeting will be a community white paper presenting the scientific vision, priority science cases, technical requirements, and potential international contributions of the Zermatt Millimeter Telescope. The meeting will therefore be an important first step toward developing a shared vision for the project and building a strong Swiss community around it.

 

Participants
    • 09:00 → 18:00
      Sunday All Day: Gornergrat site meeting

      Please go to optional site meeting tab for more details.

    • 10:00 → 10:30
      Welcome & Registration 30m
    • 10:30 → 12:40
      Monday morning: Opening Session SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Convener: Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)
      • 10:30
        Opening and Welcome 5m
        Speaker: Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)
      • 10:35
        Welcome by Swiss Polar Institute 5m
        Speaker: Chiara Bartolini (Swiss Polar Institute (SPI))
      • 10:40
        History of Astronomy in Gornergrat Switzerland 20m
        Speaker: Dr Timm-Emanuel Riesen (Universität Bern, Center for Space & Habitability)
      • 11:00
        Science and Discoveries with the Event Horizon Telescope 20m
        Speaker: Chin-Shin Chang (University of Geneva)
      • 11:20
        Introduction to ngEHT 20m
        Speaker: Shep Doeleman (Harvard)
      • 11:40
        The Swiss mm Dish 15m
        Speaker: Mark Sargent (EPFL/LASTRO)
      • 11:55
        Outreach - Builing a communication and community strategy 15m
        Speaker: Tanya Petersen (EPFL - SKACH)
      • 12:10
        Open Discussion 30m
    • 12:40 → 14:00
      Lunch (on your own, at your expense) + Group photo 1h 20m
    • 14:00 → 15:40
      Monday afternoon: mm Science - Lessons from other mm Facilities SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Convener: Chin-Shin Chang (University of Geneva)
      • 14:00
        The Global mm-VLBI Array in the Next Generation of Millimetre VLBI 20m
        Speaker: Prof. Eduardo Ros (MPI für Radioastronomie)
      • 14:20
        Operating a large telescope in a high-mountain environment: the case of the IRAM 30-meter telescope 20m
        Speaker: Miguel Sánchez-Portal (Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique - IRAM)
      • 14:40
        The Wetterstein Millimeter Telescope: A Few Hundred Megalambdas Northeast of Zermatt 20m
        Speaker: Jompoj Wongphechauxsorn (JMU Würzburg)
      • 15:00
        AMT Science 20m
        Speaker: Heino Falcke (Radboud University)
    • 15:40 → 16:00
      Coffee break 20m
    • 16:00 → 16:50
      Monday afternoon: mm Science - Lessons from other mm Facilities (continued) SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Convener: Mark Sargent (EPFL/LASTRO)
      • 16:00
        Presentation of JIVE 10m
        Speakers: Bob Campbell (Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE)), Marjolein Verkouter (Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE))
      • 16:10
        Optimizing the scientific impact of mid-class millimetre-wavelength telescopes 20m
        Speaker: Andrei P. Lobanov (MPI für Radioastronomie)
      • 16:30
        Protecting Radio Astronomy in the Era of LEO Constellations 20m
        Speaker: Axel Murk (University of Bern)
    • 16:50 → 17:30
      Monday afternoon: mm Science - Future Swiss Science interests SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Conveners: Chin-Shin Chang (University of Geneva), Mark Sargent (EPFL/LASTRO)
      • 16:50
        Black hole lightning 20m
        Speaker: Andrii Neronov (EPFL)
      • 17:10
        Probing Persistent and Transient Massive Black Hole Accretion at Millimeter Wavelengths 20m
        Speaker: Claudio Ricci (University of Geneva)
    • 17:30 → 17:40
      Stretch & Refresh 10m SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
    • 17:40 → 18:50
      Monday afternoon: mm Science - Future Swiss Science interests (continued) SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
    • 19:00 → 21:30
      Welcome Apero 2h 30m 3rd Floor

      3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

    • 08:15 → 08:30
      Welcome coffee 15m
    • 08:30 → 10:35
      Tuesday morning: Instrumentation SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Convener: Tanya Petersen (EPFL - SKACH)
    • 10:35 → 11:00
      Coffee Break 25m SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
    • 11:00 → 11:20
      Tuesday morning: Instrumentation (continued) SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Convener: Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)
      • 11:00
        Atmospheric Characterization for Radio Astronomy Site Testing: Microwave and Infrared Measurements 20m
        Speaker: Catalina Medina (Universitat Bern)
    • 11:20 → 12:40
      Tuesday morning: Open Discussion on mm facility and operations SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Convener: Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)
      • 11:20
        TEA, science cases and capabilities of the first new ngEHT station 20m
        Speaker: Dr José L. Gomez (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía-CSIC)
    • 12:40 → 14:00
      Lunch (on your own, at your expense) 1h 20m
    • 14:00 → 15:00
      Tuesday afternoon: Computing Panel 1h SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion

      The moderator for this panel will be: Chin-Shin Chang from University of Geneva
      The speakers part of this panel will be:
      - Jon Murua from SWITCH
      - Sebastien Keller from CSCS
      - Lindy Blackburn from Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian
      - Rohini Joshi from FHNW

    • 15:00 → 15:10
      End of Conference 10m SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
    • 15:15 → 17:00
      Tuesday afternoon: Swiss Science Community Whitepaper Workshop SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      SPI Library “Reading Room”, 3rd Floor

      Swiss Polar Institute

      Route des Ronquos 86 1950 Sion
      Conveners: Chin-Shin Chang (University of Geneva), Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL), Mark Sargent (EPFL/LASTRO)
    • 17:00 → 17:10
      Closing remarks 10m