Astronomer to speak at STEM lecture

Staff report

Youngstown

Pamela Gay will be the speaker at the E.W. Powers STEM lecture, at 4 p.m. March 3 at Youngstown State University.

The lecture in the Ohio Room of Kilcawley Center is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required. For information, contact Diana Fagan, professor of biological sciences, at 330- 941-1554, or dlfagan@ysu.edu.

Gay is an astronomer, writer and podcaster. She has simultaneous appoint- ments as an assistant research professor of Graduate Studies and Research at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and as executive director of the Astrosphere New Media Association.

Gay’s research focuses on how to most effectively engage the public in learning and doing astronomy online.

This will be the first STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, lecture to recognize a gift by the E.W. Powers Foundation to YSU.

Powers was born and raised in Poland. After World War II and college, he returned to the Mahoning Valley, sold the family’s jewelry store and took a job as a stockbroker at Butler Wick.

The charitable fund, which is now at PNC, was started in 1967.

Powers, who was married to Alice R. Powers, died in 1983. In addition to support for the E.W. Powers Lecture Series and the Women in Science and Engineering Career Day, The Edward W. and Alice R. Powers Trust makes a significant gift to SCOPE and the YSU Alice Powers Memorial Scholarship annually.