Science Guys

Since 1994, Edward Zovinka has been at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania, currently serving as professor of chemistry.

BY LESLIE TAYLOR

Two members of the Roanoke College community — one an alumnus and chemistry professor at Saint Francis University, the other a professor of physics at Roanoke — have written children’s books that engage young minds in science, and in exploring, explaining and understanding their world.

It has been fun and strange to get autograph requests from people, especially when people mail the book to me to sign.

— Dr. Edward Zovinka ’87

As a chemistry major at Roanoke College, Edward Zovinka ’87 remembers the positive feeling he received from planning and presenting Chemistry Club science events, held in Massengill Hall for the Salem community.

Practicing demonstrations in the stockroom, getting to know other “chemistry folk” while preparing for the event, even the fun and stress of the actual event — “I became hooked on outreach,” says Zovinka, now a professor of chemistry at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

Over the years, Zovinka has expanded outreach efforts with his students at Saint Francis and through involvement in organizations such as the American Chemical Society and the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh. Consequently, his web presence on chemistry grew, and he was approached by Callisto Media/Rockridge Press to write a book on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) activities for 8- to 12-yearolds.

“Real Chemistry Experiments: 40 Exciting STEAM Activities for Kids,” released in November 2019, earned numerous positive reviews, throughout the United States and abroad. The response prompted another approach to Zovinka from Callisto/Rockridge about writing a second book, this one about the periodic table.

“With 118 elements, a full-time job and family, I knew I could not take on the periodic table without help,” Zovinka says. “Fortunately for me, my wife [Dr. Rose Clark, also a chemistry professor at Saint Francis] agreed to take on the project with me. It was a challenging, yet family bonding, experience.”

The result was “A Kid’s Guide to the Periodic Table: Everything You Need to Know about the Elements,” released in July 2020. It too, has garnered good reviews stateside and abroad.

“It has been fun and strange to get autograph requests from people, especially when people mail the book to me to sign,” Zovinka says.

But more than the autograph-seekers, more than the brush with notoriety, is introducing, or expanding knowledge of, chemistry to young people, in much the same way his knowledge of chemistry was broadened and strengthened at Roanoke College.

During Zovinka’s years at Roanoke, chemistry faculty members Dr. Ben Huddle, Dr. As James Dalton and Dr. Gail Steehler “encouraged me to be ‘more me’ and share my abilities with others,” he says. “I not only learned a lot of chemistry, but also was required to start my research career and to take on Chemistry Club leadership.” The breadth and depth of their influence was significant. “Ben has been a lifelong inspiration for me,” Zovinka says. “In the classroom, his gentle and thoughtful presentations in General Chemistry [first year] engaged me like no one else had ever done. I became a chemist because of Ben.”

Steehler introduced Zovinka to the field of Inorganic Chemistry, which became his career interest. Dalton, Zovinka says, kept him engaged in Organic Chemistry and also encouraged him to apply for research positions that led to his pursuit of a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at University of California, Davis.

“After Davis, I was a postdoctoral researcher at NC State. Because of my interest in teaching at a school like Roanoke, I accepted a visiting assistant professor position at Davidson College and from there, accepted a tenure track position at Saint Francis University.”

Zovinka has been at Saint Francis since 1994, rising to professor and serving as department chair. He also oversaw design, fundraising and construction of a new Science Center, which opened in 2013.

“In addition to community outreach, I have been an officer for the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, and a councilor for the Pittsburgh Section of the American Chemistry Society, while continuing to publish research,” Zovinka says. “Through sabbaticals at Yale University and Carnegie-Mellon University, I have maintained active research, benefiting my students and pushing Green Chemistry to whomever will listen.”

By sharing the many cool facts and opportunities opened by learning chemistry, I hope to make the world a little bit better.

— Dr. Edward Zovinka ’87

It was Zovinka’s experience at Roanoke College that placed him on this path.

“Roanoke College was definitely transformative for me,” he says. “I became more involved in governance, was able to explore chemistry research, and take on leadership roles.”

He discovered that “chemistry opens doors, providing entries into healthcare careers, research, business, government — pretty much anything you can think of.”

Matt Fleenor, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at Roanoke College, wrote a children’s book about astronomy to increase younger generations’ interest in science.

We are star stuff

atoms make up you and me,

stars for atoms we can see.

elements within star’s core,

supernova make stars roar.

— from “Blue Star, New Star”

Every summer, Matthew Fleenor, professor of physics and astronomy at Roanoke College, teaches “Astronomy Controversies in the Modern Era,” an astronomy course for non-science majors. Astronomy, he maintains, is a wonderful way to increase interest in science.

But as a college educator and parent, he wanted “our future generations to be filled with ‘wow’ about the night sky, our sun-star, and the big universe in which we live.”

I think everyone is intrigued by the night sky. It deepens our imagination while raising our curiosity.

— Dr. Matthew Fleenor

So he wrote “Blue Star, New Star,” a children’s book that provides an introduction to astronomy through memorable verses and prose explanation.

Fleenor describes the book as a “layered tool for astronomy literacy.” While the book appeals to emerging readers ages 4-8, it also is intended to be read by adults to younger audiences with the hope of educating both the reader and the listener.

The overall themes of the book are stellar evolution, astronomy, and the night sky. The setting: present, near-earth orbit and our galaxy. The intended takeaway: wonder and curiosity.

“I think everyone is intrigued by the night sky,” Fleenor says. “It deepens our imagination while raising our curiosity.”

Fleenor wanted the book to be unlike other children’s astronomy books, which can be “cartoonish and fiction-oriented,” he says. “I have attempted to show actual images with simplistic drawings in hopes of letting the astronomy ‘speak for itself.’”

Because the book is written by a professional astronomer, educator and parent, it combines accurate science knowledge with wonder and passion, Fleenor noted.

“Scientific literacy for the public is sorely needed, and astronomy is a great way to increase the interest in science,” says Fleenor, who is working with Roanoke, Virginia-based Blue Ridge PBS to produce several videos that highlight the book’s science content through integration with the Virginia Standards of Learning.

“Beginning with younger generations is the only way to address the need for future scientists and informed citizens.” RC

Matt Fleenor in the lab with student Rachel Lindsay ’21.