3/28/02

ASTROPHYSICIST NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON TO SPEAK AT AUBURN

AUBURN -- Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will speak at Auburn University on Tuesday, April 9, as a 2001-02 Littleton-Franklin Lecturer in the Sciences and Humanities.

Tyson, who is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the New Hayden Planetarium in New York, will speak at 4 p.m. at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center auditorium. He is also a visiting research scientist and lecturer at Princeton University.

On Wednesday, April 10, Tyson will speak to student classes on campus.

Few scientists consider that their academic credentials began in high school, but Tyson's graduation from the renowned Bronx High School of Science was a worthy beginning for his academic career.

He went on to earn a B.A. in physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in astrophysics.

While his professional research is technical, involving such interests as star formation models of dwarf galaxies and the chemical evolution history of the Milky Way's galactic bulge, he has reached out to the general public with several popular books, as well as a series of monthly essays in Natural History.

His most recent books include The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist and One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos, as well as Just Visiting this Planet, which was written for all ages.

Tyson's 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" in People Magazine.

The Littleton-Franklin Lectures have been sponsored since 1968 by the John and Mary Franklin Foundation of Atlanta. The series also recognizes the services of Mosley Professor Emeritus Taylor D. Littleton.

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mar02: AU-tyson

CONTACT: Phil Shevlin, chair of the Littleton-Franklin Faculty Committee, 334/844-4043.