Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson (English: Neil deGrasse Tyson, October 5, 1958 -) is an American astronomer who specializes in cosmology. After his postdoc, he stopped doing cutting-edge academic research and transformed into a science communicator promoting astronomy to the public. He is famous in the United States and won the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal (2004) and the National Academy of Sciences Outstanding Public Welfare Medal (2015). Founder and research associate of the Department of Astronomy and Physics at the American Museum of Natural History, and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the museum's Ross Center for Earth and Space. Both of his parents are researchers working for the U.S. government. His father is African American and his mother is Puerto Rican. Since 2006, he has hosted NOVA ScienceNOW, PBS' science education program, and has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Live with BMA, and Jeopardy! On August 5, 2011, Tyson announced that he would take over as host of the new show "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" for the next season of the show "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" originally hosted by Carl Sagan.