Existing comment:
Neil deGrasse Tyson, born 1958
Neil deGrasse Tyson has been called "a rock star among star folk . . . one of the most famous astrophysicists on the planet." He fell in love with astronomy at an early age, even though the bright lights of New York City made it difficult to see the stars. After earning an undergraduate degree in physics from Harvard, a MA in astronomy from the University of Texas, and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia, Tyson found his professional niche -- developing a worldwide following thanks to his genius for making science not merely accessible but exhilarating.
Tyson posed for this portrait in his office at the American Museum of Natural History, where he serves as director of the Hayden Planetarium. By positioning Tyson behind a telescope, photographer David Gamble hoped to highlight Tyson's "brilliance in science" as well as to suggest that the telescope is the vehicle for "his interaction with life."
David M. Gamble, 2010 |