Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Neil deGrasse Tyson (b. 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.

1 Youth and education
2 Professional career
3 Trivia
4 Books
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Youth and education

Tyson attended the Bronx High School of Science (1973-76) where he captained the wrestling team and was editor-in-chief of the school's Physical Science Journal. He 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. Astronomer Carl Sagan, on faculty at Cornell University, tried to recruit Tyson to Cornell for undergraduate studies,^[1] but Tyson chose to attend Harvard University, 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.

In addition to his earned degrees, Tyson is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates.

[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 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. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union confirmed this assessment by downgrading Pluto to "dwarf planet" classification.

Tyson is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Planetary Society, where he was formerly the vice president. 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.^[2]

[edit] Trivia

Tyson was born within a week of the founding of NASA.
Tyson was voted the "Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive" by People Magazine in 2000.
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
He has appeared twice on The Colbert Report to discuss the definition of a planet. He has also appeared once on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (January 30, 2007) to discuss black holes and his new book (Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandries). Two days after his appearance on The Daily Show, the book ranked as the 4th best selling book on Amazon. He has also made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on the 15th of March 2007.
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. [2]
Neither an atheist nor religious, Tyson's views on spirituality are complex, and are best 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]
Tyson participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on 24 February 2007 playing the "Not My Job" game. He answered zero questions correctly on the topic of the long-awaited and delayed Guns and Roses album, Chinese Democracy.[8]

[edit] Books

Death By Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, ISBN 0-393-06224-4
Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution (co-authored with Donald Goldsmith), ISBN 0-393-32758-2
One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos, ISBN 0-309-06488-0
City of Stars: A New Yorker's Guide to the Cosmos, ASIN B0006RU6KG
Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge, ISBN 1-56584-602-8
The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist, ISBN 1-59102-188-X
Just Visiting This Planet, ISBN 0-385-48837-8
Universe Down to Earth, ISBN 0-231-07561-8
Merlin's Tour of the Universe, ISBN 0-385-48835-1