Astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium Director to present next University Lecture, Nov. 9 at SU

Astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium Director to present next University Lecture, Nov. 9 at SUNovember 04, 2004Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, will deliver the next installment of the University Lectures at Syracuse University. Tyson’s presentation, called “Destiny in Space: America’s Future on the Frontier of Cosmic Discovery,” will take place Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Tyson researches the problems of galactic structure, star formation and galaxy evolution. His work over the past five years has centered on decoding the history of chemical enrichment and the history of motion of the stars in the Milky Way. Other research interests include dwarf galaxies (which are less than one-tenth the size of our Milky Way), and the “bulge” at the center of the Milky Way.

As the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, Tyson is known for his ability to translate complex cosmic phenomena into terms non-scientists can comprehend. This fall, Tyson is the host of “Origins,” a groundbreaking four-part “NOVA” miniseries that PBS describes as “a cosmic journey to the beginning of time.” Tyson’s book based on that series, “Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic History,” is currently a best-seller.

The University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment in the areas of architecture and design; the humanities and the sciences; and public policy, management and communications. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s Trustees, alumni and friends. The next lecturer in the series is New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger (Nov. 16).

More information on the upcoming University Lectures speakers can be found on the web at http://provost.syr.edu/lectures/current.asp.