 "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Neil deGrasse Tyson 
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. He has popularized science with his books and frequent appearances on radio and television. Tyson became interested in astronomy at the age of nine after a visit to the Hayden Planetarium. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, where he was editor-in-chief of the Physical Science Journal, he completed a bachelor's degree in physics at Harvard University in 1980. After receiving a master's degree in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983, he earned his master's and doctorate in astrophysics at Columbia University. He was a postdoctoral research associate and lecturer at Princeton University from 1991 to 1994, when he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist. His research dealt with problems relating to galactic structure and evolution. In 1996, he became director of the planetarium and oversaw its $210-million reconstruction project, which was completed in 2000. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson wrote monthly essays in the "Universe" column for Natural History magazine, some of which were published in his book Death by Black Hole (2007). Tyson served on a 2001 government commission on the future of the U.S. aerospace industry, and on the 2004 Moon, Mars and Beyond commission. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in the same year. In 2004 he was host of the four-episode television series Origins, which examined the origins of the universe, stars, planets, and life. In 2014, he hosted the television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which was a successor to Carl Sagan's 1980 series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. As a science communicator, Tyson regularly appears on television, radio, and various other media outlets. Tyson is currntly the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, and a general-interest science columnist. He has authored many books for nonspecialists on space and the universe. Aside from his many books, Tyson was a well-known popularizer of science on television and radio. He has appeared frequently on such talk shows as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. From 2015 Tyson presided over a television talk show based on his radio program, and he also wrote several companion books, including Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going. |