Application 

Applications are open for the 2025 Remote Internship! The deadline is to apply is June 22, 2025. Write us an email to join our Cenca group and obtain the application link.

Requirements

  • To be eligible, students must be undergraduates in Central America or the Caribbean. People who have completed an undergraduate degree but have not started a graduate program are also eligible. 
  • Have no prior research experience in astrophysics or astronomy (some exceptions can be made).
  • One-page personal statement answering the described questions in the application.
  • Half-page social involvement statement answering the described questions in the application.​
​

Accepted Students' responsibility

  • Meet-up/call or report with advisor at least once every two weeks.
  • Report a research update every team meeting (monthly).
  • Give a final 15 minute research presentation of the work done.
  • Students are encouraged to:
    • Attend Cenca Bridge workshops.
    • Meet-up/call or report with their mentor at least once every two weeks.
    • Present their research findings to their own physics department.

RemoTe-REU participants

Since its start in 2019, almost 50 students have participated in the remote internship program from all over Central America and the Caribbean. Many of the students continue to be involved in the program as mentors.
FALL 2025 (AUGUST-NOVEMBER)

​Coming soon!

FALL 2024 (AUGUST-NOVEMBER)

  • Aaliyah Seerattan (Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Aylin Johana Antúnez Rodriguez (Honduras)
  • Azel Williams (St. Kitts and Nevis)
  • Daniela Azucena Cardona Cuc (Guatemala)
  • Danielle Smart (Jamaica)
  • Ivy Susseth Janssen Corro (Panamá)
  • Marwan Samuel Flores Orozco (Nicaragua)
  • Sophié Michelle Pineda Cleaves (Guatemala)
  • Valeria Calderón Pérez (Costa Rica)

Fall 2023 (August-November)

  • Linsy Martinez Rubio (Honduras). Supervisor: Facundo D. Moyano (Université de Genéve).
  • Lynne-Flore Simt (Haiti). Supervisor: Dr. Vasiliki Fragkou (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro).
  • ​Leiany De Oleo Rodriguez (Puerto Rico). 
  • Eduardo Javier Rucal (Guatemala). Supervisor: Dr. Germán Molpeceres (University of Tokyo). 
  • Amanda Calderon Campos (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dr. Paulo Montero Camacho (Peng Cheng Laboratory).
  • José Moises Arias Nuñez (Honduras). Supervisor: Dr. Adele Plunkett (NRAO).
  • Clivince Estinvil (Haiti). Supervisor: Dr. Anahí Granada (Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro, CONICET).
  • Andrés Guevara Pastor (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dr. Stefano Bertone (NASA GSFC / UMCP / INAF).
  • ​Joseph Ajay Singh (Trinidad & Tobago). Supervisor: Dr. Tanya Urrutia (Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam).
  • Clayton Xavier Vanegas Aguilar. Supervisor: Dr. Emmanuel Bempong-Manful (University of Manchester). 

FALL 2022 (AUGUST-NOVEMBER)

  • Samuel Tzunux Tzoc (Guatemala). Supervisor: Dr. Alessandra Candian (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands). Project: Explorando moléculas orgánicas en la estratósfera de Titán.
  • María Jesús Vargas García (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dr. Mayra E. Lebron Santos (University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico). Project: Caracterización en el mediano IR de galaxias ópticas de la ZoA.
  • Jean Duckens SANNON (Haití). Supervisor: Dr. Ferah Munshi (George Mason University, USA). Project: Galaxies in cosmological simulations.
  • Montissol Stevens (Haití). Supervisor: Paco Villaescusa (Flatiron Institute, USA). Project: Classification of galaxies with machine learning. 
  • Maria Jose Aguirre Montoya (Honduras). Supervisor: Dr. Nina Hernitschek (Vanderbilt University, USA). Project: Variability detection and classification in astronomical datasets on the example of TESS.
  • Thara Rubí Caba Pineda (República Dominicana). Supervisor: Dr. Benne Holwerda (University of Louisville, USA). Project: Study of spiral galaxies and their environment.
  • Kaylan-Marie Achong (Trinidad and Tobago). Supervisor: Dr. Gourav Khullar (University of Pittsburgh, USA). Project: Star formation, gravitational lensing, JWST.
  • Josseline María López Palacios (Nicaragua). Supervisor: Dr. Ana Escorza (European Southern Observatory, Chile). Project: Caracterización de las compañeras de HD 48565.
  • Jose Simmonds (Panamá). Supervisor: Dr. Michael Abdul-Masih (European Southern Observatory, Chile). Project: Dynamical stability of B-type over-contact systems. ​

Fall 2021 (August-November)

  • Cindy Massiel Jarquín González (Nicaragua). Supervisor: Dra. Wania Wolff (Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro, Brasil). Project: Classification of meteorite or on the chemistry of Saturns moons.
  • Pedro Clemente Nieto González Guzmán (Nicaragua). Supervisor: Dr. Miguel Velázquez (INAOE, Mexico). Project: Observaciones de galaxias.
  • Christian Benjamin Ball Ajú (Guatemala). Supervisor: Antonio J. Porras-Valverde (Vanderbilt University, USA). Project: La relación entre la masa estelar de las galaxias y sus halos de materia oscura. ​​

Spring 2021 (FEBRUARY-JUNE)

  • Luisa Maria Guerrero Velázquez (Honduras). Supervisor: Dr. Miguel Velázquez (INAOE, Mexico). Project: ULIRGS in high-z.
  • Maria Fernanda González (Guatemala). Supervisor: Dra. Wania Wolff (Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro, Brasil). Project: Stability of aromatic molecule under ionizing agent in Titan
  • Mynor José Rodríguez (Guatemala). Supervisor: Dra. Loreto Barcos Muñoz (NRAO, USA). Project: Radio analysis of local luminous infrared galaxies with the VLA.
  • Sital Galdámez (El Salvador). Supervisor: Dr. Sergio Martínez-González (INAOE, Mexico). Project: The Dark Side of Supernova Remnants.
  • Catalina Morales Gutiérrez (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dr. Paulo Montero-Camacho (Tsinghua University, China). Project: Inhomogeneous reionization as a Probe of Warm Dark Matter Models.

Fall 2020 (August-December)

  • Renieri Danilo Ferrari Santos (Honduras). Supervisor: Dra. Wania Wolff y Dra. Diana Andrade (Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro, Brasil). Project: Stability of aromatic molecule under ionizing agent and implication of presence in astronomical objects.
  • Yahira Mariell Mendoza Moncada (Honduras). Supervisor: Dra. Diana Andrade y Dra. Wania Wolff (Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro, Brasil). Project: Análisis químico de meteoritos brasileños.​
  • Franklin Simón Vásquez Guardia (Panama). Supervisor:  Dr. Sergio Martínez-González (CONACYT-INAOE, Mexico). Project: Modelación Hidrodinámica de los 3 cascarones concéntricos en M33
  • Marco Salazar Leiva (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dr. Manuel Zamora (Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, México). Project: Simulaciones numéricas como Laboratorios Virtuales: Interacción de galaxias: un barrido de parámetros.
  • Valeria Mena Espinoza (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dra. Karín Menéndez-Delmestre (Observatorio de Valongo, Universidad Federal de Rio de Janeiro). Project: Análise de Poblaciones Estelares en Galaxias Cercanas.

SPRING 2020 (FEBRUARY-JUNE)

  • Nicole Mejía Cerros (Honduras). Supervisor:  Dr. Cristóbal Sifón. Project: Studying the distribution of halos in galaxy clusters using hydrodynamical simulation EAGLE.
  • Alejandro Portillo (El Salvador). Supervisor: Dr. Manuel Zamora (INAOE). Project: Numerical modeling of magnetic fields in giant molecular clouds.
  • Bryan Villareal (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dax Feliz (Vanderbilt University). Project: Finding planets like Earth using TESS data​​

FALL 2019 (AUGUST-DECEMBER)

  • Fabián Quesada Zúñiga (Costa Rica). Supervisor:  Dr. Manuel Zamora (INAOE). Project: Numerical modeling of magnetic fields in giant molecular clouds.
  • Raquel Mejía (Honduras). Supervisor: Luisa Fernanda Rodríguez Díaz (Aarhus University, Denmark). Project: Granulation in late-type bright stars.
  • Geovanny Briceño (Costa Rica). Supervisor: Dr. Julio Chaname (Universidad Católica de Chile). Project: Milky Way Stellar dynamics using GAIA data
  • Alejandro Alvarado Murillo (Costa Rica). Supervisor:  Dr. Santiago Casas (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, CEA, Paris-Saclay, France) . Project: Exploring the universe using H-alpha emission lines.​