Named in honor of Raymond N. Wilson (1928– ), astronomical optician and pioneer of new-technology telescopes, on the occasion of his retirement. After serving as a department head and chief optician with Carl Zeiss, in 1972 he joined the European Southern Observatory, where he began work on ESO’s telescopes and auxiliary instrumentation. His great experience in the optical design of large telescopes, as well as his profound knowledge of test methods led him to develop the concept of deformable, adjustable active optical elements. Wilson was responsible for the optical design and the evaluation of suitable tests for the large MPIA and ESO telescopes. (M 22499) _ _.