Attention all Star Wars’ fans! A German professor is here to keep the Star Wars spirit ablaze. Hubert Zitt, a professor at the Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences is a hardcore Star Wars fan. To express his fervor adoration for the film franchise, he and his team made something incredible. Zitt’s team decided to repaint the Zweibrücken Observatory of the Natural Science Association to make it look like a giant R2-D2.
The Giant R2-D2 Project
The Star Wars fan/professor successfully transformed the observatory into a giant R2-D2 in September 2018. With the help of his father-in-law Horst Helle, the master painter Klaus Ruffing, and some of his students. A spectacle indeed, the giant R2-D2 structure became a big hit among the Star Wars fandom. It even caught the attention of Star Wars actor Mark Hamill. In his tweet, he said that
“R2-D2 Observatory Transformed Germans Into Giant Nerds.”
However, this is not the first time that a certain observatory was transformed into a giant R2-D2. In fact, Goodsell Observatory at Carleton College in Minnesota had the same transformation back in June 2010.
A Hardcore Sci-Fi Pop Culture Fan
As a sci-fi professor, Dr. Hubert Zitt is well-known for his Star Wars and Star Trek lectures. But he is actually more than that. He completed his doctorate degree at Saarland University in the field of Systems Theory of Eletrotechnology. And he is currently working as a professor at the University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern, Zweibrücken where he teaches electrotechnology. From time to time, he demonstrates his ardor for sci-fi pop culture by giving lectures, particularly about Star Trek.
Due to his unique style of rendering ‘sci-fi’ lectures, he became a frequent guest speaker to other universities and other cities. Moreover, he was able to take his lectures to popular conventions such as FedCon, the biggest Sci-Fi Convention in Europe. Words about his engaging lectures about Star Trek reached Rod Roddenberry, the son of the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. And in 2008, he was given the privilege to write the preface of the book Star Trek in Germany. Furthermore, he became a regular lecturer at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.
When he’s not giving sci-fi lectures or teaching electrotechnology, he finds other ways to express his passion for these franchises. Luckily for him, the Zweibrücken Observatory is ready to receive a makeover. And Dr. Zitt had the pleasure to turn it into one of the most beloved Star Wars character. Are we going to see a giant C-3PO anytime soon? We’ll just wait and see.
Professor Hubert Zitt
Sources: Hochschule Kaiserslautern / boebelix / _raeubermami_mal_zwei
/ cpt.maggi / l_to_the_aser