Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson
Tyson at the NASA Advisory Council in Washington, D.C., November 2005
Born	(1958-10-05) October 5, 1958 The Bronx, New York City, United States
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	B.A. Physics, Harvard College M.A. Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin Ph. D Astrophysics, Columbia University
Awards	NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Scientific career
Fields	Astrophysics, physical cosmology
Institutions	Hayden Planetarium, PBS, Planetary Society

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (born October 5, 1958 in New York City) is an American 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. A charismatic television personality, he has, since 2006, hosted PBS's educational television show NOVA scienceNOW. He has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Jeopardy!. (See references 1 to 10 in contexts below.)

Life

Youth and education

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. Born the year that NASA was founded (established 7/29/1958), 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,. During an interview with the writer, Daniel Simone, (See the entire interview in the November 2, 2007 issue of Dan's Papers ), Dr. 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, an he actually took the inititiative 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. 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. (See the biographical summary provided by the International Astronautical Federation. ; also Tyson featured on the NASA Academy Sharing Knowledge )

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 the sunset visible along unobstructed side streets.

In 2004, he hosted the four-part "Origins" ministries of PBS's Nova, and co-authored, with Donald Goldsmith 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 NASA.

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. In 2006, the I.A.U. confirmed this assessment by changing Pluto to the "dwarf planet" classification. Daniel Simone wrote of the interview with Mr. Tyson describing his frustration. "For a while, we were not very popular here at the Hayden Planetarium."

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.

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.

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.

In terms of actual astrophysics, his research contributions have been minimal. He has not published a first author paper since his Ph.D. thesis in 1991. He is, however, valued among the astronomy community for his popularization of science.

Honors

• In addition to his earned degrees, Tyson is the recipient of honorary doctorates from City University of New York, Dominican College, Ramapo College, University of Richmond, Bloomfield College, Northeastern University, Pace University, Williams College, and University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Medal of Excellence from Columbia University.
• An asteroid, 13123 Tyson, is named in his honor.
• Tyson was voted the Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive by People Magazine in 2000.
• 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.
• In 2004 Dr. Tyson was selected as one of the 50 Most Important African-Americans in Research Science.
• In 2008, Discover Magazine featured him among the '50 Best Brains in Science'. (Dec 2008 issue)
• Tyson was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2007.
• Tyson was named the Klopsteg Memorial Award winner in 2007.
• Tyson received the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest honor awarded by NASA to a non-government civilian, in 2004.
• Tyson received the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award from the Space Foundation in 2009: this is awarded annually to an individual or organization who has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.
• Tyson received the Isaac Asimov award from the American Humanist Association on June 5, 2009 at their annual conference, which was held in Tempe, Arizona.

Works

Science Themed Writings

List of books by Tyson

• 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)

Non-scientific writings

• 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.
• 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. Tyson's views on religion and spirituality might best be understood from his two essays "The Perimeter of Ignorance" and "Holy Wars" both appearing in Natural History Magazine. From the 2006 Beyond Belief workshop on Science and Religion, see excerpts from Tyson's talk on unintelligent design in the universe and the spirituality of science itself.
• 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.

Notable media appearances

• He has appeared a record six times on The Colbert Report (October 26, 2005; August 16, 2006; April 30, 2007; February 13, 2008; June 25, 2008; June 29, 2009). He has also appeared three times on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (January 30, 2007; July 23, 2007; January 28, 2009), 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).
• Tyson participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on 24 February 2007 playing the "Not My Job" game.
• 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.
• He served as one of the central interviewees on the various episodes of the History Channel science program, The Universe.
• Was referenced by Samantha Carter in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Trio" during a game of "Who Would You Rather...?". 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.
• 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.
• 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. He also had a spirited insult of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic program, citing he thinks of space as the entire universe, not just in orbit.
• Audio samples from Tyson's DVD lecture series "My Favorite Universe" have been used by the progressive rock band Microsloth.
• He appeared on "Who Wants To Be A Millionare" as the ask the expert lifeline.

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External links

• The Official Neil deGrasse Tyson Website
• Video: 2007 Interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson - The Alcove with Mark Molaro
• Bio at the Planetary Society
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson, CV at AMNH page
• NOVA interview Nov. 2, 2007 A Conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson at Nova
• Audio: Neil deGrasse Tyson - The Sky Is Not the Limit from Point of Inquiry, August 18, 2006
• Video: At the 'Beyond Belief' discussion, Tyson "rebukes" Dawkins
• Video: Tyson examines George W. Bush's record on Science via Fora.tv (Los Angeles Public Library, Feb. 4, 2009)
• "Neil deGrasse Tyson...talks about his new book of collected essays about the cosmos" From C-SPAN's BookTV.org
• Interview on the American Freethought Podcast
• 2009 podcast interview at The Bat Segundo Show
• Space Foundation's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award

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