Neil deGrasse Tyson is returning to Nashville. The popular astrophysicist will give his presentation on “Science as a Way of Knowing” in Andrew Jackson Hall at TPAC on Wednesday, November 18 and Thursday, November 19, 2015.
He will discuss the anatomy of science: what it is; how it works; why it works; and why it’s the most successful means of decoding nature ever devised. And furthermore, what social, cultural, and political forces stimulate or thwart this moving frontier, and what this bodes for the future of nations and our species.
Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City; educated in the public schools through graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. He earned his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. Tyson’s professional research interests include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way.
In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005 Among Tyson’s ten books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS-NOVA 4-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host.
Two of Tyson’s recent books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS/NOVA documentary “The Pluto Files”, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.
For five seasons, Tyson was the on-camera host of PBS- NOVA ScienceNOW, an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe. Tyson is the recipient of eighteen honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen.
In February 2012, Tyson released his tenth book, containing every thought he has ever had on the past, present, and future of space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier. Tyson hosted a critically-acclaimed 21st century reboot of Carl Sagan’s landmark television series COSMOS, which aired in 13 episodes on the FOX network in the spring of 2014, entitled Cosmos: A Space-time Odyssey.
Tyson identified a stable of professional standup comedians to help bring science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk, now also a podcast and beginning its second season of one-hour television shows on the NatGeo channel, StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter for people who never thought they would, or could, like science.
Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York City.
Tyson lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Don’t miss Bullets Over Broadway at TPAC, Andrew Jackson Hall, Nov. 10 – 15.
The hilarious musical comedy about the making of a Broadway show, written by Woody Allen, is the story of a young playwright who, in desperate need of financial backing for his next show, accepts an offer he can’t refuse from a mobster looking to please his showgirl girlfriend, loaded with big laughs, colorful characters, and the songs that made the ’20s roar. Use the promo code “CANTREFUSE” and get tickets as low as $25 to select performances.
