Findlay, Ohio, Oct. 29, 2001 — David Levy, science editor for Parade Magazine, will be the featured speaker for The University of Findlay’s first-ever Academic Excellence Day Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Malcolm Athletic Center, Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex.

Levy, who is one of the most successful comet discoverers in history, will speak on his work at 9 a.m. He has discovered 21 comets, eight of them using his own backyard telescope. With Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California, he discovered Shoemaker-Levy 9, the comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994.

The author of 21 books, Levy won an Emmy in 1998 as part of the writing team for the Discovery Channel documentary, "Three Minutes to Impact." As science editor for Parade, he is able to reach 80 million readers. He is also a contributing editor for Sky and Telescope and writes for the Canadian magazine Skynews.

The goal of Academic Excellence Day is to showcase the academic excellence of students and faculty across campus. A total of 41 different presentations will be given from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Booths will be set up in the Malcolm Athletic Center, and students and faculty will move from booth to booth as the presentations are given. Classes until 3 p.m. on that day are canceled in order to give all students and faculty members the opportunity to attend.

From 1:30 to 3 p.m., a panel discussion on stem cell research will be featured. Panel members are Jeff Richey, assistant professor of religion; Gwen Rife, associate professor of biology; and Matt Stolick, assistant professor of philosophy. Judy Wahrman, assistant professor of education, will serve as moderator.

The event is sponsored by the Honors Program at UF.