Making the CHARA Array, Part I - founding CHARA, the audacity of hope~1

摘要

This discussion, the first of three describing how the CHARA Array came to be, focuses on the establishment of the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy at Georgia State University, our site selection saga, and some apparently brilliant decisions stumbled into. The technical and scientific achievements of the CHARA Array to date are far more than just an argument for perseverance. CHARA's success stands upon audacity, risk taking, luck, and, above all else, a core team of wonderfully talented and dedicated individuals who made it all turn out well.