Stephen F. Austin State University

The upcoming Stephen F. Austin State University Regents Lecture will focus on an astronomy professor's concerns about the effects of uncontrolled lighting on the nighttime sky.

Dr. Norm Markworth, 2000-2001 Regents Professor, will deliver the address, “Will future generations ask, ‘What were the stars’?”

 “Unfortunately uncontrolled lighting has resulted in glare, energy waste (both in resources and money,) health problems and environmental damage,” he said. “But the biggest concern for me is an aesthetic one — What is the legacy to our children and grandchildren if we lost the nighttime sky?”

Markworth began teaching at SFA in 1978. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Florida.

He is director of the SFA Observatory, the second largest observatory in Texas and the Central Time Zone. The Observatory provides approximately 600 introductory astronomy students per year the opportunity to view and learn the wonders of the sky and is one of the only observatories of its size in the world which permits regular use by advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

A veteran of more than 20 years in community theatre, Markworth recently completed a role in the musical “Pump Boys and Dinettes” produced by the Lamp-Lite Theatre in Nacogdoches.

The lecture begins at 11 a.m. Feb. 6 in the Wright Music Building's Cole Concert Hall. There is no admission charge, and a light lunch will be served.

This is the third in a series of lectures delivered by SFA Regents Professors. The series is sponsored by the SFA Office of the Provost and the University Lecture Series Committee.

For more information, call (936) 468-2605.