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Hawaii UH88 Telescope Milestone Dedication

On June 26, the 275th IEEE Milestone was dedicated atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.  This date was the 55th anniversary of the telescope’s opening. In Feb. 2020, a 4-member team was formed to initiate this effort: John Borland (then Hawaii Section Chair), Sophie Tang (Hawaii Section Milestone Chair), Song Choi (Univ. of Hawaii Asst. Dean, College of Engineering), and Mark Rognstad (Univ. of Hawaii Project Engineer).  As a member of the IEEE History Committee, R6 History Chair Brian Berg helped facilitate the process.

Mauna Kea hosts the world’s largest astronomical observatory, at the highest point in the world for studying heavenly bodies, with 13 telescopes operated by astronomers from 11 countries. The IEEE bronze plaque affixed by the entryway to the telescope reads as follows:

“Dedicated on 26 June 1970, the University of Hawaii’s 2.2-meter (88-inch) astronomical telescope atop Mauna Kea’s 13,796-foot peak was both the world’s highest and the first to be controlled by a computer. Its location near the equator, above 40% of Earth’s atmosphere and 90% of its water vapor, allowed observation of nearly the entire sky, and thereby enabled the most advanced and powerful Earth-based astronomical observations.”

Song Choi, John Borland, Sophia Tang, and Mark Rognstad with the IEEE Milestone plaque below the original plaque for the 88” telescope.
Group celebrating the Milestone plaque’s dedication.
Brian Berg on the outside deck of the 88” telescope, with a view of the Subaru, Keck I, Keck II, and NASA Infrared telescopes, and Maui’s Haleakala volcanic peak in the distance.

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