Neil deGrasse Tyson was born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1958. It could be argued that science was in his blood, as his father was a sociologist who worked for New York City mayor John Lindsay, and his mother was a gerontolgist. A trip to the Hayden Planetarium at the age of nine triggered the young Tyson’s lifetime enthusiasm for astronomy, and he would obsessively study the subject during his teenage years.
By the age of 15, the young Tyson was already giving lectures on astronomy. By the time he was 17, the great Carl Sagan tried to recruit the youngster to Cornell University. Tyson opted to attend Harvard College, though, and would receive his AB degree in Physics in 1980 from that institution. He would gain an MA in astronomy from the University of Texas in 1983. After lecturing at the University of Maryland between 1986 and 1987, Tyson would earn an MPhil degree in astrophysics in 1989 from Columbia University. Two years later, he earned his PhD from the same institution.
In 1994, he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist while he was a research affiliate in Princeton University. He was appointed as director in 1996, and oversaw the planetarium’s $210 million reconstruction project, which was finished in 2000. Tyson would acquire some fame as a writer around the same time, writing the ‘Universe’ column for Natural History Magazone from 1995 onwards.
In 2001, Tyson was appointed to serve on the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. In 2004, he was invited to serve on the President’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. He also received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Since then, Tyson has become a fixture on TV and the internet. He hosted the four-part miniseries ‘Origins’ in 2004, and co-authored the series’ accompanying book. He has also co-hosted a radio show called StarTalk, and has appeared on numerous other shows on TV, radio and online. He has appeared regularly on The Colbert Report, as well as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and The Rachel Maddow Show.
Tyson has also collected a host of awards for his work and career in science. These range from being named as the Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive by People magazine in 2000, to receiving the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication from Starmus in 2017.
So now you have a clearer idea about just who Neil deGrasse Tyson is, what does his Masterclass course contain? We will take a closer look at the Neil deGrasse Tyson Masterclass course in scientific thinking and communication here. Read on to find out all you need to know about this detailed and challenging course.