About

The Fairborn Institute, founded in 2000, is a direct descendent of the Fairborn Observatory, which was founded in 1979. The Institute uses smaller telescopes to conduct scientific research with its permanent staff and a constant stream of undergraduate and high school students. It also pursues related telescope and instrumentation engineering developments. Emphasis is placed on the publication of all research, and many of the students who have participated in the Institute’s research have received scholarships thanks to their coauthored publications. Besides astronomical observations, the Institute explores cosmic evolution, the synthesis of physical, biological, and cultural evolution.

The seven pioneering robotic telescopes at the Fairborn Observatory on Mt. Hopkins in southern Arizona in the late 1980s. The Fairborn Observatory was the predecessor to the Fairborn Institute.

Seminar students operating the 2.1-meter telescope from its warm room at Kitt Peak National Observatory during one of two week-long runs featuring multiple student teams.