In a galaxy far far away (Germany) Hubert Zitt, professor at the Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences and known for Star Trek and Star Wars lectures, along with a small team, transformed the Zweibrück Observatory of the Natural Science Association into a giant R2-D2 – and it is out of this world.

The sci-fi professor completed the project in September 2018, aided by his father-in-law Horst Helle, the master painter Klaus Ruffing and several helping students and it has caught the eyes of Star Wars fans everywhere. The most notable fan of the re-design was Star Wars actor Mark Hamill who tweeted about it, “R2-D2 Observatory Transformed Germans Into Giant Nerds.”

While spectacular, Zitt and his team aren’t the first fans to complete a Star Wars design challenge. Goodsell Observatory at Carleton College in Minnesota was also transformed into an R2-D2 back in 2010.

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Dr. Hubert Zitt may be known now for his Star Wars and Star Trek expertise, but he got his start in electrotechnology. He received a doctorate from Saarland University in the field of systems theory of electrotechnology and is now a tenured professor in the field at the University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern, Zweibrücken. When he’s not teaching electrotechnology he is spreading information about his favorite sci-fi pop culture.

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

He gained worldwide acclaim as a Global Top Speaker for his lectures on Star Trek. The first one announced was a “Christmas lecture” where he presented the topic in a unique style that people couldn’t get enough of. In 2005 he took his lectures on the road to other cities at other universities and conventions such as FedCon, Europe’s biggest Science Fiction Convention.

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Zitt gained so much recognition in his field that he wrote the preface of the book ‘Star Trek in Germany’ along with the son of the Star Trek inventor Gene Roddenberry in 2008. In the fall semester of the same year, the professor became a regular lecturer at the The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas teaching ‘The Physics of Star Trek.’

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Image credits: boebelix

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

Image credits: thomas_beutler

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Image credits: cpt.maggi

Image credits: Hochschule Kaiserslautern

R2-D2 stands proud, guarding the university, but knowing how hardcore this professor is, maybe C-3PO will join him sometime in the future? which building would that be? We will be eagerly waiting to see what this hardcore fan has in store for us next!

Image credits: l_to_the_aser