Pamela L. Gay
Senior Scientist at Planetary Science Institute
About
I'm a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, and I co-created Astronomy Cast.
Experiences
- Producer and occasional programmer at CosmoQuestInvite everyday people to map our Solar System
I created Moon Mappers, where the public counts lunar craters. Their counts went into a 2022 research paper.
- asteroid (632484) PamelaGayBecame asteroid (632484) PamelaGay
It was found in 2008 from Haleakala, and I got to post: It happened! I became an asteroid!
- Senior Scientist at Planetary Science InstituteCo-authored the Science paper on sampling asteroid Bennu
I also read the vampire tale Carmilla aloud to raise money for PSI, picked for its female narrator.
- Podcast Co-host at Astronomy CastLanded in the Podcasters Hall of Fame with Astronomy Cast
I co-created the show, and it won the 2018 Parsec Award. I'm known for mangling one name per episode.
- Assistant Research Professor at Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleAlternated hosting a live science show with Emily Lakdawalla
I also ran an image-making workshop so my astronomy students could enter Hubble's Hidden Treasures contest.
- New Media Task Group co-chair at International Year of Astronomy 2009Co-chaired new media for the International Year of Astronomy
From 2008 to 2010 I co-chaired the IAU's New Media Task Force for the worldwide 2009 celebration.
- Ph.D. in Astronomy at The University of Texas at AustinUsed radio sources to hunt for galaxy clusters
That was my Texas dissertation, advised by John Kormendy and Gary Hill, after a master's on variable stars.
- Early lifeAs a teen, watched NASA's Great Observatories
Later I worked through Spitzer, Fermi, Swift and JWST. Now no new flagship telescope is being built.