On Friday, August 11th, management at the University of Central Florida and Florida Space Institute hosted a ceremony to honor the Arecibo staff for their incredible service to the observatory.

Julie Brisset, Interim Director of the Florida Space Institute, and Olga Figueroa, Arecibo Site Director, presented all of the employees certificates of appreciation for their contributions to the Arecibo Observatory, and with special thanks for working at the facility until the very end. Additional awards were presented to those who had worked at the Arecibo Observatory for 25 years or more. Olga Figueroa received recognition for Outstanding Leadership.

Mike Sulzer, who has worked at the observatory for 46 years, gave a speech on what made Arecibo special to him. Others joined to share what made the observatory so special for them.

“It was a really, really nice ceremony,” says Allison Smith, a scientist at AO. “It was beautifully decorated and just wonderful to get together with everyone for a really positive event full of gratitude.”