Neil deGrasse Tyson

A modern icon of science, Neil deGrasse Tyson is a cosmologist, astrophysicist and author who has acted as a communicator and translator for the convoluted world of science. Born and raised in New York City, he embraced his affinity for astronomy from childhood and was giving community lectures by the age of 15. His interest in physics and the universe caught the attention of Carl Sagan, an astronomer and professor who tried to recruit him to the study at Cornell University. While Tyson ended up studying at Harvard, he went on to succeed Sagan's beloved 1980s series Cosmos: A personal Voyage, in the 2014 sequel Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. With his writing and lectures inspiring new generations of physicists, Tyson continues to play a pivotal role in the relationship between science and imagination.