Legendary Star Trek writer Dorothy Fontana passed away Monday evening following a brief illness. Fontana, who usually wrote under the name D.C. Fontana, was 80 years old.

The news was announced in a press release from the American Film Institute (AFI). David Gerrold, a friend of Fontana’s and fellow Trek alum, posted the press release on his Facebook page early yesterday morning, where it was picked up and the news spread quickly across the internet.

From the press release: “Most recently employed as a senior lecturer at the American Film Institute, Ms. Fontana devotedly taught and mentored many classes of aspiring screenwriters, producers and directors by sharing a lifetime of expertise, craft, heart and integrity. However, Ms. Fontana gained global notoriety for her writing and story editing on the 1960’s television series Star Trek, as well as the 1970’s animated series, which she also associate produced. Her myth-building work on classic Trek blazed a trail for women, not only in television, but in science fiction.”

Fontana is survived by her husband, Oscar-winning visual effects cinematographer Dennis Skotak. Memorial donations may be made to The Humane Society, Best Friends Animal Society, or the American Film Institute.