UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A free presentation titled “CosmoQuest: You can help discover our universe" will take place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park Campus. The lecture will be presented by Pamela Gay, the director of technology and citizen science for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The event is part of the 2017 Friedman Lecture Series in Astronomy, which is free and open to the public.

In her talk, Gay will describe how everyday people are helping advance our understanding of astronomy through participation in “citizen science” research projects.

“Citizen scientists have made some very impressive contributions to the field,” said Christopher Palma, senior lecturer of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State. “I know Pamela has some great stories to share about discoveries that were only possible because many people were willing to lend their time to help analyze enormous numbers of astronomical images."

Gay began her career in astronomy as an undergraduate student at Michigan State University and went on to earn a doctorate in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. She is well known as the host of the podcast Astronomy Cast and is the founder of CosmoQuest, a web portal for citizen scientists to become involved in NASA-related research.

This presentation is hosted by the Penn State Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and is funded largely by the Ronald M. and Susan J. Friedman Outreach Fund in Astronomy. Ronald Friedman is a member of the department's Board of Visitors.