Svec, University of Illinois physics alum, has his eye on the sky

Furman University’s Michael Svec is part of an effort to restore the aging Campus Observatory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater. Svec, a Furman professor of education and coordinator for the science education interdisciplinary minor, leads Friends of the Observatory, a group he and others established in 2010. The organization has raised a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service and matching funds from the university to get needed repairs underway.

Svec, a physics alum of the university, said the building, which was named a National Historic Landmark, is more than an observatory. It’s a place to gather and “find a community having a shared love of the sky,” he said. Renovations are set to begin in summer 2025 and continue through fall. Learn more on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Department of Astronomy website.