The medal is the Academy's most prestigious award, established in 1914 and presented annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good. Tyson is widely regarded as among the best science communicators of this generation, who hosted "NOVA Origins" on PBS and was executive producer and host of "NOVA scienceNOW" for several seasons before serving as executive editor and host for "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey," a 13-episode, Emmy-nominated prime-time series that aired on Fox Network and was a remake of previous Public Welfare Medal recipient Carl Sagan's landmark 1980 television series. Tyson is also the host of StarTalk Radio, a commercial radio show and podcast devoted to "all things space," and recently completed recording the pilot season of the StarTalk television program, which will air on the National Geographic Channel beginning in April.
There is no greater honor than being in a photo with the Science 2.0 mascot, Bloggy.
Tyson has also written 10 books including "Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier," "The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet," and "Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries," a New York Times bestseller. He is a strong advocate for the U.S. space program and served on two presidential commissions on aerospace and space exploration. In 2007, he was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Among his numerous awards and honors, Tyson is the recipient of 18 honorary doctorates and NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal, the agency's highest honor for non-government citizens.
The Public Welfare Medal will be presented to Neil deGrasse Tyson on April 26 during the Academy's 152nd annual meeting. More information, including a list of past recipients, is available at www.nasonline.org/public-welfare-medal.
Comments