| Tyson's professional research interests are broad, but include star
formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky
Way. Tyson obtains his data from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as from
telescopes in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and in the Andes Mountains of
Chile.
In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a 12- member
commission that studied the Future of the US Aerospace Industry. The final
report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and
for the major agencies of the
government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space
exploration, and national security.
In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a
9-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space
Exploration Policy, dubbed the "Moon, Mars, and Beyond"
commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can
become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the NASA
Administrator appointed Tyson to serve on its Advisory Council, which will
help guide NASA through its perennial need to fit its ambitious vision into
its restricted budget.
In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written,
and continues to write for the public. He is a monthly essayist for Natural
History magazine under the title "Universe." And among Tyson's eight 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
serves as on-camera host. The program premiered on September 28 and 29,
2004. And beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appears as the on-camera host
of PBS-NOVA's spinofff program NOVA ScienceNow , which is an acessible look
at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our
place in the universe.
Tyson's latest book is the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and
Other Cosmic Qunadaries, which was a New York Times bestseller.
Tyson is the recipient of nine honorary doctorates and the NASA
Distinguished Public Service Medal. His contributions to the public
appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International
Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid "13123 Tyson". On
the lighter side, Tyson was voted "Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive" by People
Magazine in 2000.
Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the
Hayden Planetarium. Tyson lives in New York City with his wife and two
children.
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