Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Neil deGrasse Tyson
At the NASA Advisory Council in Washington, D.C., November 2005
At the NASA Advisory Council in Washington, D.C., November 2005
Born October 5, 1958 (1958-10-05) (age 49)
The Bronx, New York City, United States
Residence Manhattan, New York City, United States
Citizenship United States
Nationality American
Fields Astrophysics, Physical cosmology, Popularization of science
Institutions Hayden Planetarium, PBS, Planetary Society
Alma mater B.A. Physics, Harvard College

M.A. Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin

Ph.D Astrophysics, Columbia University
Influences Isaac Newton, Carl Sagan, Fred Hess
Notable awards NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Religious stance None (see "Non-scientific writings")

Neil deGrasse Tyson (born October 5, 1958 in New York City) is an astrophysicist and, since 1996, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Since 2006, he has hosted PBS's educational TV show NOVA scienceNOW.

Contents

[edit] Life

[edit] Youth and education

Tyson attended the Bronx High School of Science (1973–1976) where he captained the wrestling team and was editor-in-chief of the school's Physical Science Journal. Born the week that NASA was founded, 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. Astronomer Carl Sagan, who was a faculty member at Cornell University, tried to recruit Tyson to Cornell for undergraduate studies [1] 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. in physics from Harvard in 1980 and began his graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his M.A. 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, earning a Ph.D. degree in astrophysics from that institution in 1991.

[edit] Professional 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 sunset visible along unobstructed side streets.

In 2004, he hosted the four-part "Origins" miniseries of PBS's Nova, and co-authored, with Donald Goldsmith (renowned California astronomer and science writer/professor) the companion volume for this series, "Origins: Fourteen Billion Years Of Cosmic Evolution".

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 N.A.S.A.

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. He has stated on The Colbert Report that this decision has resulted in large amounts of hate mail, much of it from children [2]. In 2006, the I.A.U. confirmed this assessment by downgrading Pluto to "dwarf planet" classification.

Tyson is President of the Planetary Society, where he was formerly the Chair of the Board. He is the new host of the PBS program NOVA scienceNOW [1].

Tyson is a vocal critic of string theory; his opposition comes from the seeming over-reliance of string theory upon mathematical projections instead of testable variables [3].

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

[edit] Honors

  • In addition to his earned degrees, Tyson is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates.
  • An asteroid, 13123 Tyson, is named in his honor.
  • Tyson is a wine enthusiast whose collection was featured in the May 31, 2000 issue of the Wine Spectator as well as the Spring 2005 issue The World of Fine Wine.
  • Tyson was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2007.

[edit] Works

[edit] Scientific works

  • The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist (1st ed. 2000 / 2nd ed. 2004)
  • Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution (co-authored with Donald Goldsmith) (2004)
  • 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)
  • One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos (2000)
  • Just Visiting This Planet (1998)
  • Universe Down to Earth (1994)
  • Merlin's Tour of the Universe (1989)

[edit] Non-scientific writings

  • Tyson is non-religious and has argued that the intelligent design movement, of the kind that credits complex, yet-to-be-understood phenomena in nature to a higher intelligence, thwarts the advance of scientific knowledge.[4][5][6] Tyson's views on religion and spirituality might best be understood from his two essays "The Perimeter of Ignorance"[3] and "Holy Wars"[4] both appearing in Natural History Magazine. From the 2006 Beyond Belief [5] workshop on Science and Religion, see excerpts from Tyson's talk on unintelligent design in the universe [6] and the spirituality of science itself [7].

[edit] Notable media appearances

  • He has appeared a record four times on The Colbert Report (October 26, 2005; August 16 2006; April 30 2007; February 13 2008) . He has also appeared twice on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (January 30, 2007; July 23, 2007), once to discuss black holes and his new book (Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries). Two days after his January appearance on The Daily Show, the book ranked as the 4th best selling book on Amazon. He has also made appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (March 15, 2007; July 25, 2007).
  • Tyson appeared as the Keynote speaker during the dedication ceremony of Deerfield Academy's new science center, the Koch Center on May 4th, 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 is the 2007 host of PBS's science news magazine show, NOVA scienceNOW, that airs in the summer in place of NOVA.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Article on Tyson (August, 2000).
  2. ^ "The Colbert Report", 2006-08-17
  3. ^ Neil deGrasse Tyson interview on opposition to string theory, dated July 19, 2006 (2006-08-21).; NOVA podcast, "Proving String Theory", dated July 19, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2006
  4. ^ YouTube - Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Intelligent Design" at Beyond Belief
  5. ^ Neil deGrasse Tyson : The Perimeter of Ignorance
  6. ^ Neil deGrasse Tyson : Holy Wars

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Persondata
NAME Tyson, Neil deGrasse
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tyson, Neil
SHORT DESCRIPTION Astrophysicist
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH The Bronx, New York City, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH