Jerry D. Hinnefeld, professor of physics at IU South Bend, will present the Lundquist Faculty Fellow Award Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27, room 1011, Education and Arts Building. The building is off of Esther Street and Mishawaka Avenue, directly to the south of the Administration Building.

“A Stroll Through Herschel’s ‘Luxuriant Garden ’” is the lecture title and it will have the audience looking to the sky and beyond.

The 18th century English astronomer William Herschel, in reference to the many “nebulae” he had observed through his telescope, famously compared the heavens to a “luxuriant garden, which contains the greatest variety of productions, in different flowering beds … “

Hinnefeld will illuminate the audience with stories of the new astronomical observatory on the roof of Northside Hall, how it came to be and possibly a demonstration of its capabilities, modern understandings of Herschel’s “nebulae” and thoughts about what the new observatory means to the campus and the community.

A reception and tours will follow. IU South Bend’s Office of Academic Affairs will host the event.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information call Academic Affairs at 574-520-4298.

The Lundquist Lecture was instituted in 1984 and named after Eldon Lundquist, one of Elkhart’s best known natives. He wore many hats – public relations, advertising, hospital development director, sportscaster and legislator. He was a member of the Indiana General Assembly from 1961 to 1976, where he served as the Senate Education Committee chairman for more than a decade.

In 1976, he was appointed assistant to the president of Indiana University with an office at IU South Bend. He served in that role until his death in 1977.

His friends established an endowment in his name to sponsor public lectures. In 1984, the Faculty Fellowship Program was established to support IU South Bend faculty members who demonstrate outstanding accomplishments in teaching, scholarship and service.