Origins 2023

Local Organizing Committee:

• Antonio Lazcano UNAM
• Arturo Becerra UNAM
• Jim Cleaves CIW
• Hervė Cottin LISA/UPEC
• Carlos Montufar USFQ
• Diego Quiroga USFQ
• Patricia Sierra USFQ
• Ana Teresa Pérez USFQ

Scientific Organizing Committee

• Jim Cleaves (ISSOL, USA) (Co-Chair)
• Hervé Cottin (IAU, France) (Co-Chair)
• John Brucato (IAU, Italy)
• Aaron Engelhart (ISSOL, USA)
• Julio Angel Fernandez Alvez (IAU, Uruguay)
• Misato Fukagawa (IAU, Japan)
• Paul Higgs (ISSOL, Canada)
• Zita Martins (IAU, Portugal)
• Connie Meinert (ISSOL, France)
• Antonio Lazcano (ISSOL, Mexico)
• Alicia Negron-Mendoza (ISSOL Mexico)
• Masatoshi Ohishi (IAU, Japan)
• Sudha Rajamani (ISSOL, India)
• Patricio Rojo (IAU, Chile)
• Nicolle Zellner (ISSOL, USA)
• Yufen Zhao (ISSOL, China)

Quito, formally San Francisco de Quito is the capital and the largest city of Ecuador. At an elevation of 2,850 meters (9,350 ft) above sea level, it is the second-highest official capital city in the world, after La Paz, and the one which is closest to the equator. Quito has a tropical highland climate. Because of its elevation and its proximity to the equator, Quito has a fairly constant cool climate. The average temperature at noon is 18.7 °C (65.7 °F) with a normal night-time low of 9.3 °C (48.7 °F) The annual average temperature is 14 °C (57 °F). The city experiences only two seasons: dry and wet. The dry season, June through September (4 months) is referred to as summer; the wet season, October through May (8 months) is referred to as winter. Annual precipitation, depending on location, is approximately 1,000 mm (39 in).

It is located on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains. With a population of 2.800.000 (in 2022), Quito is the most populous city in Ecuador. It is also the capital of the Pichincha province and the seat of the Metropolitan District of Quito.

Due to its geographical location and elevation, Quito receives a great amount of solar radiation, being one of the locations in the planet that receives the most.

The historic center of Quito has one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas. Quito and Kraków, Poland, were among the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO, in 1978. The central square of Quito is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.

If you want more information about Quito, please visit this page:

(coming soon)

(coming soon)

The conference will take place at USFQ campus, in Quito, Ecuador.

The map below will show the different rooms and auditoriums that will hold the  conferences.

You should be in Quito by Sunday July 30th. Opening/Registration will start at 3 pm at Universidad San Francisco de Quito campus. The travel agency working with us during the conference, Expedition Tours, can help you with your travel arrangements  (sales@expeditionsandtours.com). Anyhow, you can make your own arrangements at your convenience. Conference will be held until Friday, August 4th. So you can plan your departure for the night of the 4th or the 5th.

Please be aware that you need to have a 6 months’ valid passport to enter Ecuador. Be very careful with this, as immigration authorities won’t let you in if your passport is not 6 months valid starting your entrance day. Most countries do not need a visa to enter Ecuador; only very few (please check if needed)

If you are interested in visiting Ecuador before or after the conference, we recommend you contact a travel agency to arrange your trip. Expedition Tours is a serious and well known company that can help you if need it. You can take a look at the different packages they offer here:

All international flights go through Quito and Guayaquil. Several airlines fly to these two airports from different locations in Europe and North-America, including:

• Aeroméxico
• Air Europa
• American Airlines
• Avianca
• Copa Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Iberia
• JetBlue Airways
• KLM
• LATAM
• United Airlines
• Wingo

Local transportation

The Conference will provide transportation from Quito to Cumbaya Valley (USFQ). Buses will depart from hotels in Quito to/from Cumbaya USFQ campus where the conference will take place.

As the conference is not arranging international flights, NO transportation from airport to hotels will be provided. You can take a taxi from the airport to your hotel upon your arrival in Quito airport. Also you can ask for hotel shuttle services when available or offered.

Hilton Group Hotels will be sponsoring the conference. Therefore, we have arranged with them special rates for the conference’ participants. As you might know, Hilton is a worldwide hotel chain that will guarantee the good service and excellent accommodations.

• Hilton Colon is a five stars’ hotel with top quality rooms. (Contact coming soon)
• Hampton Inn is a new hotel of the group, three stars. (Contact Coming soon)
• Comfort suites is a more economic lodging with lower daily rates, located in the Hilton complex. For information and reservations contact:  (Contact coming soon)

Please be aware that the double room’ rates that Hampton and Comfort Suites are offering work for two people in the same room, sharing the room rate.

Anyhow, you can choose any city hotel for your stay. Closer to the conference we will let you know about the transportation arrangements to and from the conference venue, that is approximately 30 minutes away from the city of Quito.

(coming soon)

(coming soon)