Description
You and up to five guests will have a private chat about anything in the universe in a 40-minute Zoom call with famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson '80.
*Date and time to be mutually agreed upon.*
*40-minute Zoom session includes the winning bidder and up to five guests.*
The winning bidder will also receive a signed copy of Neil's latest book "Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization." It offers ways to allocate our emotional and intellectual energies that reconcile with the biology, chemistry, and physics of the known universe. Starry Messenger recasts some of the most discussed and debated topics of our times - war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, race - each an artificial battlefield on the landscape of life, and returns them to the reader in ways that foster accountability and wisdom in the service of civilization.
Neil graduated from Harvard with his BA in Physics while earning his varsity letter sweater as a member of the wrestling team. He then earned his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.
In 2001, Neil was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. 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, Neil was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-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 head of NASA appointed Neil to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which guides NASA through its perennial need to fit ambitious visions into restricted budgets.
During the summer of 2009 Neil identified a cadre of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a popular Podcast, for three years it enjoyed a limited-run Television Series on the National Geographic Channel. StarTalk often combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy.
Tyson is the recipient of twenty-three honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. 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." And by zoologists, with the naming of Indirani Tysoni, a native species of leaping frog in India. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted "Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive" by People Magazine in 2000.
To learn more about Neil, his writing, and his work, check out his website: https://neildegrassetyson.com/.
Item Special Note
Date and time to be mutually agreed upon.
40-minute Zoom session includes the winning bidder and up to five guests.