Rate My Professor Neil Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a renowned astrophysicist whose contributions to space science span research, education, and public outreach. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Harvard University (1980), a Master of Arts in Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin (1983), a Master of Philosophy in Astrophysics from Columbia University (1989), and a Doctorate in Astrophysics from Columbia University (1991), with his doctoral research focused on the chemical evolution, abundances, and structure of the Galactic Bulge under advisor R. Michael Rich. Early in his career, Tyson served as Lecturer in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Maryland (1987), Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University's Department of Astrophysics (1991–1994), and Visiting Research Scientist and Lecturer at Princeton (1994–2003). At the American Museum of Natural History, he progressed from Staff Scientist at the Hayden Planetarium (1994–1995) and Acting Director (1995–1996) to Frederick P. Rose Director since 1996. He founded and chaired the Department of Astrophysics there (1997–1999), served as Project Scientist for the $210 million Hayden Planetarium reconstruction (1997–2000), and has been Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics since 2003.

Tyson's research specializations include galactic bulge dynamics, stellar evolution, star formation models for dwarf galaxies, extragalactic and intergalactic supernovae, dwarf galaxies, and stellar populations. He has authored influential books such as Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (2017), Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military (2018, co-authored with Avis Lang), Letters from an Astrophysicist (2019), Cosmic Queries: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We Are Going (2021, co-authored with James Trefil), Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization (2022), and To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery (2023, co-authored with Lindsey Nyx Walker), many of which are New York Times bestsellers. As a science communicator, he hosted NOVA ScienceNOW (2006–2011), Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014), and Cosmos: Possible Worlds (2020). His honors include the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal (2004), Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (2015), Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society (2017), and Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication (2017), along with over 27 honorary doctorates. Tyson contributed monthly essays to Natural History magazine (1995–2005) and served on presidential commissions for U.S. aerospace (2001) and space exploration (2004), as well as NASA's Advisory Council (2006).