Telescope Generously Donated to Department by Long-Time Lover of Learning

The UNC Charlotte Department of Physics and Optical Science would like to express its utmost gratitude to John Edwards for his generous donation of a Meade telescope, and to his daughter, Lesley Edwards, for working with our team to bring the telescope to campus. Mr. Edwards’ telescope will be utilized by students in the Introduction to Astronomy labs (PHYS 1130L) and by the Society of Physics Students for their stargazing gatherings; his donation will permit more students to gain first-hand experience with navigating the cosmos.

John Edwards, 80, studied Chemical Engineering at NC State, but astronomy had always been an interest of his. John liked to read science fiction; being intellectually curious, he wanted to see what he was reading about. This interest led him to purchase the Meade telescope in the 1980s. When asked what he liked focusing on the most, he answered “the Milky Way,” and he described an interest in finding as many galaxies as he could that cannot be seen by the human eye. Mr. Edwards was thrilled to be able to donate his telescope to UNC Charlotte for others to also find through the eyepieces the very phenomena they’re studying.

Thank you, Mr. Edwards, for sharing your love of learning and your intellectual curiosity with others. It is our hope that the use of your telescope will inspire UNC Charlotte students to explore our place in the Universe for years to come.