IAC Accreditation
The IAC was awarded with the Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence Accreditation in 2011, it was one of the eight centers awarded in the first Severo Ochoa Program call.
Founded in 1985 in La Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands), the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is a consortium between the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), the Canary Islands Government, the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC).
During the selection process, the international evaluation committee stressed that the IAC was a science and technology center, where scientists are not only involved in theoretical and observational research, but also lead the construction of advanced telescopes and instrumentation. The GTC 10.4m telescope, the largest optical telescope, developed under the auspices of the IAC, is the best example of this sinergy. The IAC also participates in the development of instrumentation and the scientific exploitation of the European Southern Observatory and several space observatories and ESA missions, and runs the Teide and Roque de los Muchachos observatories in the Canary Islands.
