Raymond Neil Wilson (23 March 1928 – 16 March 2018) was an English

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and telescope optics designer, best known for pioneering the use of

active optics Active optics is a technology used with reflecting telescopes developed in the 1980s, which actively shapes a telescope's mirrors to prevent deformation due to external influences such as wind, temperature, and mechanical stress. Without active op ...

in large telescopes.

Biography

Wilson's first degree was in physics from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, followed by studying engineering at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

.Ray Wilson section o
2010 Astrophysics Laureate Biographies
, Kavli Foundation website, accessed 23/01/2011 After completing national service in 1952, he resumed his work on optics. He then worked at Imperial College and at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK. From around 1961, he spent 11 years as Head of the Design Department for telescopes at

Carl Zeiss AG Zeiss ( ; ) is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany, in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the foundation for today's ...

Oberkochen Oberkochen is a municipality (officially a town, despite its size) in the Ostalbkreis, in Baden-Württemberg, in Germany. Name The name "Oberkochen" consists of the two German words "ober", meaning "above" or "upper", and " Kocher", the name o ...

, Germany. In 1972 he became Head of the Optics and Telescopes Group at the European Southern Observatory (

ESO The European Southern Observatory is an astronomical research organisation. ESO may also refer to: *Employee stock option (also: executive stock option) *'' Ether Saga Odyssey'', a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game *''The Elde ...

), where he worked for the next 21 years, first in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and then in

Garching Garching bei München (, ''Garching near Munich'') or Garching is a city in Bavaria, near Munich. It is the home of several research institutes and university departments, located at Campus Garching. History Spatial urban planning Garching was ...

, Germany. His major contributions have been in telescope optics and technology. In particular, he developed the concept of

, which is now the basic principle on which modern large telescopes are constructed. The concept of active optics was developed first in ESO's

New Technology Telescope The New Technology Telescope or NTT is a 3.58-metre Ritchey–Chrétien telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory. It began operations in 1989. It is located in Chile at the La Silla Observatory and was an early pioneer in the us ...

(first light 1988), and then in ESO's

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with ...

(VLT). (first light 1998). Wilson retired in 1993, writing a two-volume monograph ''Reflecting Telescope Optics'', a leading work in the field. He also extended the design of large telescopes to the next-generation designs that use three, four, and five mirrors. Wilson's other interests included history, economics, cosmology and biology.

Awards and honors

The awards bestowed for his work include the

Karl Schwarzschild Medal The Karl Schwarzschild Medal, named after the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, is an award presented by the Astronomische Gesellschaft (German Astronomical Society) to eminent astronomers and astrophysicists. Recipients SourceGerman Astronomical ...

(1993) and a share of the

Kavli Prize The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 as a joint venture of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation (United States), Kavli Foundation. It honors, supports, and r ...

(2010),ESO archive o
Raymond Wilson Honoured with Two Prestigious Prizes
The Messenger 142 – December 2010, page 41 (archived version accessed 23/01/2011) as well as the

Tycho Brahe Prize The Tycho Brahe Medal is awarded by the European Astronomical Society. Namesake is the Danish astronomer of the Renaissance Tycho Brahe. Inaugurated in 2008, the prize is awarded annually in recognition of the pioneering of European astronomical ...

(2010).Tycho Brahe Prize 2010 Awarded to Telescope Designer
press release from the

European Astronomical Society The European Astronomical Society (EAS) is a learned society, founded under the Swiss Civil Code in 1990, as an association to contribute and promote the advancement of astronomy in Europe, and to deal with astronomical matters at a European lev ...

, 19 April 2010, accessed 23/01/2011 He has also been made Chevalier of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(2003) and has received the Prix Lallemand (2005) from the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

.Lauréats des Prix de l'Académie de Sciences en 2005
, French Academy of Sciences website (in French), accessed 23/01/2011 On his retirement in September 1993, the Themistian asteroid 3790 Raywilson was named in his honor. The name was proposed by

Lutz Schmadel Lutz Dieter Schmadel (2 July 1942, in Berlin – 21 October 2016) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of asteroids, who worked at the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (ARI) of the University of Heidelberg. His special interest was th ...

and endorsed by the Heidelberg Observatory, where the asteroid had been discovered by

Karl Reinmuth Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth (4 April 1892 in Heidelberg – 6 May 1979 in Heidelberg) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of 395 minor planets. Scientific career From 1912 to 1957, Reinmuth was working as an astronomer at the He ...

56 years earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Raymond 1928 births 2018 deaths 20th-century English astronomers English physicists Alumni of the University of Birmingham Kavli Prize laureates in Astrophysics Knights of the Legion of Honour