New Aquatic Center will “essentially kill our observatory”

“According to Webb, if construction on the pool is complete, it would render the million-dollar observatory obsolete and non-functional.” | Mhyanif Lozada, PantherNOW.

Conor Moore | News Director 

Renowned FIU astrophysicist James Webb is fighting the placement of the new aquatic center to protect the on-campus observatory, the Stocker AstroScience Center.

In an email statement sent to PantherNOW, Dr. James Webb states he has raised concerns to the Board of Trustees about the damage the new center will bring if built near the observatory (Site 11), but that the board insists on having it there.

According to Webb, if construction on the pool is complete, it would render the million-dollar observatory obsolete and non-functional.

“It’s just going to be totally a disaster for us,” said Webb in an in-person interview with PantherNOW.

While the Faculty Senate unanimously voted to remove Site 11, the Board of Trustees seems to be intent on moving forward with it “in spite of the effect on the observatory and the wishes of the faculty.”

“I sent [the Board of Trustees] an individual letter telling them, look, you know, you destroy our program if you do this. And they voted with me sitting there. They voted to go ahead and do it. So it’s like they’re not considering the effect on students, effects on teaching STEM education. They just want their pool there,” said Webb.

When asked why the Board decided on Site 11, Webb said it was “because the University of Miami and University of Tampa have pools in a central location, they think it looks really cool, so they want one for us, so students can walk by and see the pool.”

“As the observatory is a facility I raised money for, helped design, and have been director of for 11 years, I am totally frustrated with their total disregard of the value of the observatory for students and the community,” said Webb.

He explained the extensive list of damages the observatory would suffer if the aquatic center were built, such as the pool’s lights completely blinding the telescope, water evaporation degrading the telescope’s visibility, chlorine eroding the integrity of optical surfaces and noise from any events hosted at the center.

Additionally, over 500 undergraduate students a semester use the observatory for astronomy courses. Many more, particularly graduate students and scientists, use the telescope as a vital tool for research.

“Nine professional papers have Stocker Observations in them, and some have student co-authors,” Webb elaborated.

“I have the utmost respect for President Ken Jessell and the FIU administration and I in no way want to antagonize them, but this is a problem that needs to be fixed. This has gone way too far,” he said.

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