The Nittany Valley Writers Network, a local community group that links local writers of all genres and levels of experience, will host guest speaker Eva J. Pell at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in the Schlow Library Community Room. In Pell’s “My Unlikely Journey — From Scientist to Children’s Author; From Idea to Publication,” the author will share her transition from working in academia to becoming an author.
Pell worked as a professor of plant pathology for the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, studying air pollution effects on vegetation for 26 years. After, she took on the role of senior vice president for research and dean of The Graduate School at Penn State for 10 years before transitioning to working as the undersecretary for science at the Smithsonian Institution.
“When I worked as the senior vice president for research, my eyes were opened to research that went way beyond my own expertise,” Pell explained. “And among other things, I learned a lot about material science and engineering and some of the amazing possibilities that are in our future.”
Pell continued gaining scientific insight at the Smithsonian, with various scientific centers — like the Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, the National Zoo and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama — reporting to her.
“That opened my eyes to a whole other piece of the big puzzle of our world,” Pell shared.
Throughout her time as a professor and at the Smithsonian, Pell explained one of her goals was to focus on speaking with the public about scientific findings.
“The scientists at the Smithsonian had two jobs. One was to work on their science. The other was to contribute something to the outreach effort of the institution, which meant exhibits and speaking to the public — both grade school kids and people of all ages,” Pell said. “And it just became evident that there were stories to be told and ways to tell them that could engage children in understanding the challenges in our environment and the challenges with biodiversity.”
This realization led Pell to take on the challenge of writing a children’s book that made learning about the environment and biodiversity digestible and enjoyable.
Pell went on to author “ResQ,” a middle-grade series focused on rescuing endangered species. The three-book series includes “ResQ and the Baby Orangutan,” “ResQ Takes on The Takhi” and “ResQ in Panamá: Can We Save the Frogs?”
“A lot of people recognize that we’re losing species every day. We lose species we don’t even know we have,” Pell said. “So the books are important for that reason. Getting kids to see their place in the world is really why I wrote this book. I want kids to imagine how they might help.”
Though Pell talked candidly about how her career guided her to penning “ResQ,” there is still more to the story that she will reveal during her talk for the Nittany Valley Writers Network.
“I don’t want to give away the punchline of how I came to start writing these books,” Pell joked. “It’s a fun story, so I’m going to save that.
The talk is free and open to the public. Contact Dave at [email protected] for more information.
