Title:   

  Reflections on the Eary Days of the IfA



       John T. Jefferies 
       NOAO, Tucson
       (& Founding Director of the IfA)


ABSTRACT:

The presentation will focus on some early and seminal events that 
opened the path for the development on astronomy at the University of 
Hawaii.  Most attention will be given to the circumstances 
surrounding the award of a contract to UH by NASA for the 
construction of an 84-inch telescope and the decision of the French 
scientific establishment, joined later by the Canadians, to locate a 
major optical telescope on Mauna Kea.  Time permitting, some brief 
consideration will also be given to the forces that underlay these 
developments.