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Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Neil deGrasse Tyson
Tyson at the NASA Advisory Council in Washington, D.C., November 2005
Born (1958-10-05) October 5, 1958 (age 65)
The Bronx, New York City, United States
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materHarvard College (B.A)
University of Texas (M.A.)
Columbia University (Ph.D.)
AwardsNASA Distinguished Public Service Medal
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics, physical cosmology
InstitutionsHayden Planetarium, PBS, Planetary Society

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Ph.D. (born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist and, since 1996, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Since 2006, he has hosted PBS's educational television show NOVA scienceNOW. He has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Jeopardy!.

Early life

Tyson was born in New York City as the second of three children. His father, Cyril deGrasse Tyson, was a sociologist and human resource commissioner for New York City mayor John Lindsay. His mother, Sunchita Feliciano Tyson, was a gerontologist.[1][2] Tyson attended the Bronx High School of Science (1972–1976) where he captained the wrestling team and was editor-in-chief of the school's Physical Science Journal. Tyson had an abiding interest in astronomy from a young age—and obsessively studied it in his teens—eventually even gaining some fame in the astronomy community by giving lectures on the subject at the age of 15. Tyson has stated that his interest in astronomy began when he would climb to the top floor of his New York City apartment building (named the "Skyview Apartments") and look at the moon through binoculars.[3]

Astronomer Carl Sagan, who was a faculty member at Cornell University, tried to recruit Tyson to Cornell for undergraduate studies.[4] During an interview with the writer, Daniel Simone, (See the entire interview in the November 2, 2007 issue of Dan's Papers,[5]) Tyson said, "Interestingly, when I applied to Cornell, my application dripped of my passion for the study and research of the Universe. Somehow the admissions office brought my application to the attention of the late Mr. Sagan, and he actually took the initiative and care to contact me. He was very inspirational and a most powerful influence. Mr. Sagan was as great as the universe, an effective mentor." But Tyson chose to attend Harvard, where he majored in physics. He was a member of the crew team in his freshman year, but returned to wrestling, eventually lettering in his senior year. Tyson earned his B.A. degree in physics from Harvard in 1980 and began his graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his M.A. degree in Astronomy in 1983. In addition to wrestling and rowing in college, he was also active in dancing in styles including jazz, ballet, Afro-Caribbean, and Latin Ballroom. In 1985, he won a gold medal with the University of Texas dance team at a national tournament in the International Latin Ballroom style. He began a doctoral program at the University of Texas, but transferred in 1988 to Columbia University after University of Texas dissolved his committee[6]. In 1991, he earned a Ph.D. degree in astrophysics. (See the biographical summary provided by the International Astronautical Federation.[7] Tyson also featured on the NASA Academy Sharing Knowledge.[8])

Career

Tyson has written a number of popular books on astronomy. In 1995, he began to write the "Universe" column for Natural History magazine. In a column for the magazine he authored in 2002, Tyson coined the term "Manhattanhenge" to describe the two days annually on which the evening sun aligns with the cross streets of the street grid in Manhattan, making the sunset visible along unobstructed side streets.

In 2004, he hosted the four-part "Origins" miniseries of PBS's Nova,[9] and co-authored with Donald Goldsmith the companion volume for this series, Origins: Fourteen Billion Years Of Cosmic Evolution.[10] He again collaborated with Dr. Goldsmith as the narrator on the documentary 400 Years of the Telescope which premiered on PBS in April 2009.

In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Tyson to serve on the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry and in 2004 to serve on the President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, the latter better known as the "Moon, Mars and Beyond" commission. He was soon afterward awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by NASA.[11]

As director of the Hayden Planetarium, Tyson bucked traditional thinking to keep Pluto from being referred to as the ninth planet in exhibits at the center. Tyson has explained that he wanted to look at commonalities between objects, grouping the terrestrial planets together, the gas giants together, and Pluto with like objects and to get away from simply counting the planets. He has stated on The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and BBC Horizon that this decision has resulted in large amounts of hate mail, much of it from children.[12] In 2006, the I.A.U. confirmed this assessment by changing Pluto to the "dwarf planet" classification. Daniel Simone wrote of the interview with Tyson describing his frustration. "For a while, we were not very popular here at the Hayden Planetarium."

Tyson has been Vice-President, President, and Chairman of board of the Planetary Society. He is the new host of the PBS program NOVA scienceNOW.[13]

He attended and was a speaker at the Beyond Belief symposium on November 2006. In 2007, Tyson, who is known for his vibrant character, cheerful demeanor, and awe of the vastness of the universe itself, was chosen to be a regular on The History Channel's popular series The Universe.

In 2009, he started hosting with comedienne Lynne Koplitz a one-hour radio show called Star Talk. The show is syndicated Sunday afternoons on KTLK AM in Los Angeles and WHFS in Washington DC.

Awards and recognition


Signing a copy of his book "Origins". Portrait taken at JREF's TAM6, The Amazing Meeting

Writings

Tyson has contributed to papers published in scientific journals through 2009 [21]. In this time, he has also written about science in many other venues in an effort to popularize science.

Books

List of books by Tyson [22]

  • The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet (2009) ISBN 0393065200
  • Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (2007) ISBN 0393330168
  • The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist (1st ed. 2000 / 2nd ed. 2004) ISBN 9781591021889
  • Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution (co-authored with Donald Goldsmith) (2004) ISBN 0393327582
  • My Favorite Universe (A twelve part lecture series) (2003) ISBN 1565856635
  • City of Stars: A New Yorker's Guide to the Cosmos (2002)
  • Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge (2000) ISBN 1565846029
  • One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos (2000) ISBN 0309064880
  • Just Visiting This Planet (1998) ISBN 0385488378
  • Universe Down to Earth (1994)
  • Merlin's Tour of the Universe (1989)

Essays

  • Tyson has argued that intelligent design, which credits complex, yet-to-be-understood phenomena in nature to a higher intelligence, thwarts the advance of scientific knowledge.[23][24][25] His views on religion and spirituality might best be understood from his essays "The Perimeter of Ignorance"[26] and "Holy Wars"[25] both appearing in Natural History magazine. From the 2006 Beyond Belief[27] workshop on science and religion, see excerpts from Tyson's talk on unintelligent design in the universe[28] and the spirituality of science itself.[29]
  • Tyson lived next to the World Trade Center and was an eyewitness to the September 11, 2001 attacks. He wrote a widely circulated letter on what he saw.[30]
  • On June 6, 2008, after the conclusion of the Democratic presidential primaries, Tyson wrote an op-ed in The New York Times in which he presented a statistical analysis of recent polling data. From this analysis, Tyson concluded that in a hypothetical election held on the day of publication of his article, Barack Obama would lose to John McCain, whereas Hillary Clinton would beat McCain.[31]

Media appearances

Tyson has appeared a record seven times on The Colbert Report (October 26, 2005; August 16, 2006; April 30, 2007; February 13, 2008; June 25, 2008; June 29, 2009, April 8, 2010). He has also appeared four times on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (January 30, 2007; July 23, 2007; January 28, 2009; March 1, 2010), once to discuss black holes and his new book (Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries). Two days after his original January appearance on The Daily Show, the book ranked as the fourth best selling book on Amazon. He has also made appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (March 15, 2007; July 25, 2007).[32]

Tyson participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on 24 February 2007 playing the "Not My Job" game.[33]. His questions involved Guns and Roses latest recording and he missed all three questions.

Tyson appeared as the keynote speaker during the dedication ceremony of Deerfield Academy's new science center, the Koch Center on May 4, 2007. He emphasized the impact science will have on the 21st century, as well as explaining that investments into science may be costly, but their returns in the form of knowledge gained, and perking interest is invaluable. Tyson appeared as the Keynote speaker at The Amazing Meeting 6, a science and skepticism conference hosted by the James Randi Educational Foundation, in June 2008.

He served as one of the central interviewees on the various episodes of the History Channel science program, The Universe. Tyson was featured as a guest interviewee on episode #156 of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe on the July 16, 2008.

On October 25, 2008 he appeared on the series premiere of D.L. Hughley Breaks the News, a CNN comedic news show. On January 19, 2009 he appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He talked about his new book The Pluto Files. On June 25, 2009 he appeared as a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to promote his book, The Pluto Files and talk about his PBS show, Nova scienceNOW. On March 1, 2010 he appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" to discuss Pluto's reclassification, during a recurring Rachel Maddow Show segment called "Moment of Geek."

Tyson appeared on an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? as the ask the expert lifeline.[34][35][36]

Tyson was referenced by Samantha Carter in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Trio" during a game of "Who Would You Rather...?", between Tyson and Brian Greene. Upon hearing his name Dr. Rodney McKay claims Tyson stole an idea of his. Tyson later appears alongside Bill Nye in an episode of the series entitled "Brain Storm" in which he addresses McKay's claim of stealing ideas. [37]

Tyson had a cameo as an air force officer tracking a meteor in the 1979 movie of the same name (Meteor_(film)).

Audio samples from Tyson's DVD lecture series "My Favorite Universe" have been used by the progressive rock band Microsloth.

Autotuned samples of Tyson are prominent in the Symphony of Science song "We Are All Connected."[38]

In 2010 Tyson created the word "marsography" while delivering a lecture as a guest speaker at the University of South Florida. He created the word, then addressed the fact "geo" in "geography" refers to earth and that the word geography is inadequate when trying to describe the composition of extraterrestrial planets.

References

  1. ^ Whitaker, Charles (August 2000). "Super Stargazer". Ebony 55 (10): 60. ISSN 0012-9011.
  2. ^ Advance Reading for Keynote address. Cornerstone. Accessed September 4, 2009.
  3. ^ "Curriculum Vitae". Neil deGrasse Tyson. 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  4. ^ Whitaker, Charles (2000). "Super Stargazer - astrophysicist Neil De Grasse Tyson - Brief Article". Ebony. Johnson Publishing. Retrieved 2008-06-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "A Conversation With Neil deGrasse Tyson". PBS.org. July 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  6. ^ Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist. December 12, 2008. Event occurs at 45:43. Retrieved May 01, 2010. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ "Neil deGrasse Tyson". iafastro.org. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  8. ^ Cohen, Dan. "Interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson". NASA.gov. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  9. ^ WGBH Educational Foundation (2004). "NOVA - Origins - PBS". Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  10. ^ Tyson, Neil deGrasse; Goldsmith, Donald (2004). Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 9780393059922.
  11. ^ "Symposium Awards". nationalspacesymposium.org. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  12. ^ The Colbert Report, 2006-08-17
  13. ^ "NOVA - scienceNOW - PBS". Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  14. ^ "Neil De Grasse Tyson: Sexiest Astrophysicist". People.com. 2000-11-13. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  15. ^ "50 Of the Most Inspiring African Americans", Edited by Patricia Hinds, 2002, Essence Books (New York), p. 145.
  16. ^ Powell, Corey (November 19, 2008). "The 50 Most Important, Influential, and Promising People in Science". Discover Magazine. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  17. ^ Michael D. Lemonick (2007). "Neil deGrasse Tyson". Time - The Time 100. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  18. ^ "Symposium Awards". Space Foundation - 25th National Space Symposium. 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  19. ^ "Space Foundation Recognizes Neil deGrasse Tyson with Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award". Space Foundation - 25th National Space Symposium. 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  20. ^ http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/cv/honors
  21. ^ "Research Publications by Neil deGrasse Tyson". Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  22. ^ "Books by Neil deGrasse Tyson". haydenplanetarium.org. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  23. ^ YouTube - Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Intelligent Design" at Beyond Belief
  24. ^ Neil deGrasse Tyson : The Perimeter of Ignorance
  25. ^ a b Holy Wars from PBS
  26. ^ The Perimeter of Ignorance from Tyson's website
  27. ^ Beyond Belief 2006: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival from The Science Network
  28. ^ Beyond Belief '06 - Neil deGrasse Tyson (Monday, November 5) from YouTube
  29. ^ Beyond Belief '06 - Neil deGrasse Tyson (Tuesday, November 7th) from YouTube
  30. ^ The Horror, The Horror from Tyson's website
  31. ^ Neil deGrasse Tyson (2008-06-06). "Vote by Numbers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  32. ^ http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/watch
  33. ^ Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! from NPR
  34. ^ http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/cv/profiles
  35. ^ http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/626200
  36. ^ http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/648292
  37. ^ First Pics Of Jewel Staite's Hot Date On Atlantis from io9
  38. ^ "The Symphony of Science". symphonyofscience.com. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
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