Dedication Program

Greeting

Introduction of invited special guests:

• Dr. John D. Kraus, Creator and builder of BIG EAR
• Mrs Lois Mikesell, Widow of Gene Mikesell

• Dr. Robert S. Dixon, Associate Director of OSURO
• Dr. Jerry Ehman, Discoverer of "Wow!" Signal
• Dr. Jon Young, Dir., OSU ESL (ElectroScience Laboratory)
• Dr. Steven W. Ellingson, ARGUS development
• Dr. Stephen Brown, volunteer, engineer
• Russell Childers, volunteer, chief observer
• Ms. Cindy Brooman, BIG EAR website, Volunteer webmaster
• Mr. Gary Bashinski, Dir., Dornoch Golf Club
• Ms. Carmelita Boyer, Ohio Bicentennial Commission
• Mr. Philip Ross, Ohio Historical Society

Speaker Biographical Sketches - -

John D. Kraus: Ohio's first and foremost radio astronomer, designer and builder of BIG EAR, the third largest radio telescope in the United States.

Robert S. Dixon: Student of and collaborator with Dr. Kraus and associate director of the BIG EAR radio telescope. Bob created innovative observational aids and conceived the ARGUS project.

Jerry Ehman: Radio astronomer, programmer and observer during the Ohio Sky Survey, later volunteering to operate BIG EAR after the completion of the Ohio Survey. Author of the famous phrase "Wow!"

Jon Young: Director of OSU ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL). Jon used BIG EAR as a compact range for radar studies.

Steven Ellingson: Started as a volunteer at BIG EAR while in graduate school in Electrical Engineering. Currently he is principal investigator on the ARGUS Project.

Stephen Brown: Served as volunteer chief engineer at BIG EAR until obtaining his PhD while working on the ARGUS program.

Mrs. Lois Mikesell: Gene Mikesell's Widow. Gene taught many people the ways of BIG EAR and was largely responsible for keeping the telescope in operating condition and on the air for many years.

Russell Childers: Volunteer, chief observer at BIG EAR, who created software to automate the observing program after the crash of the old standby computer. He created a program to recognize celestial sources and select narrow-band sources for closer scrutiny by BIG EAR.

Cindy Brooman: A volunteer who by very hard, dedicated work is representative of the many volunteers who have contributed to the operation of BIG EAR from 1973 through 1997.

Mr. Gary Bashinski: Director of the Dornoch Golf Club who has worked with us in setting up this memorial historical marker.

Philip E. Barnhart: Volunteer coordinator of the North American AstroPhysical Observatory, (NAAPO) which has overseen the operation and maintenance of the radio observatorysince 1985. He is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

Mr. Philip Ross: Historical Markers Coordinator, Ohio Historical Society.

Ms Carmelita Boyer: Ohio Bicentennial Commission, Regional Coordinator

Ohio's large radio telescope (320 x 71 foot collecting aperture) covered nearly 4 acres and was called BIG EAR because it listened in on the radio emissions of astronomical objects. Built largely by university students and faculty it was used to perform an important sky survey to record the then unknown position and "brightnessess" of cosmic radio sources.

Over a period of 12 years it completed a survey at 600 Megahertz and 1420 Megahertz recording nearly 20,000 discrete radio sources, half of which were previously unknown. This survey was the most complete and most reliable record of the radio sky at the time and is still referenced. Nearly 150 professional journal articles were published from this instrument. Over 20 graduate students and a dozen faculty members from various institutions took part in its operation. Pioneeering work was carried out involving data analysis and display, low noise receiver design and techniques for discovery of quasi-stellar radio sources (QUASARS). The telescope was used in the longest continuous search for evidence of extraterrestrial advanced technological civilizations. It has recently been used to pioneer new antenna and receiver technologies. Operated for the final 24 years of its existence by a dedicated group of volunteers ranging from middle school students through active and retired professional astronomers, physicists and engineeers, it has provided opportunity to develop more efficient data processing techniques and new technology radio telescopes or unique and p owerful design.

Since its demolition to make way for golf course expansion, a historical marker seems the most appropriate means to keep before the public the importance to scientific history of Ohio's only radio telescope.

[Main Author: Dr. Philip E. Barnhart]