Duane Lee, a Williams College graduate, is close to attaining his doctorate degree in astronomy at Columbia University. (Courtesy photo) <\/p>\n
PITTSFIELD -- For Pittsfield native son Duane M. Lee, the next stop after graduating this year from the School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University will be starting a post-doctoral fellowship at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in China this fall. <\/p>\n
His story begins, however, as an African-American child growing up on Linden Street on the city's west side, a less-affluent section of Pittsfield that also is teeming with young children full of potential and dreams. <\/p>\n
\"I was always interested in science,\" said Lee, 33, during a recent interview from Columbia University in New York City, where he is fine-tuning his final dissertation for a doctorate degree in astronomy. <\/p>\n
\"Particularly, I remember my neighbors across the street had a telescope. In the summer, they invited neighborhood kids to come look through it,\" he said. \"I was fortunate. Where I grew up we had very dark skies, where you can see stars and planets with the naked eye.\" <\/p>\n
His mother, Francine Lee, said she recalls that her son wanted to be an astronaut, but issues with asthma prevented his pursuit. <\/p>\n
Duane recalls how his father, Henry Lee, did buy him his own telescope. \"I was about 11 or 12 and that pretty much cemented my love of astronomy,\" Duane said. <\/p>\n
Before that, however, Francine said she wanted to instill an early love of learning in all of her children. <\/p>\n
In 1981, when Duane was 2, she enrolled him in Pittsfield's free Parent-Child Home Program, a home-based <\/p>\n
While attending Conte Community School, Duane also received Title I reading support through second grade, a program that also supports disadvantaged students. <\/p>\n
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Love of astronomy launches Pittsfield native's education to new heights<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Duane Lee, a Williams College graduate, is close to attaining his doctorate degree in astronomy at Columbia University. (Courtesy photo) PITTSFIELD -- For Pittsfield native son Duane M. Lee, the next stop after graduating this year from the School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University will be starting a post-doctoral fellowship at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in China this fall. Continue reading