Every generation sees the rise of one person, who revolutionizes their field, whose work is so awe-inspiring that they go down in history as more than just a person of that field. It goes without saying that science has these heroes. For lack of knowledge I can speak of mainly physics-centric people but other than the cliché Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton, here are some people that did more than discover the usual scientist.
CARL SAGAN:
Sagan changed the face of modern science, from his groundbreaking research to his bestselling works of nonfiction. He was essentially the first celebrity scientist.
"Carl Sagan, more than any contemporary scientist I can think of, knew what it takes to stir passion within the public when it comes to the wonder and importance of science," Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences
The man had an impeccable resume. He was a lauded author, winning the Pulitzer Prize for his General Non-Fiction, ‘The Dragons of Eden’. He was a consultant to many early NASA missions and was one of the men behind the ‘Voyager’, ‘Viking’ and ‘Pioneer’ Missions. He and his team of NASA Scientists are credited for our very first close up images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, all this in addition to having a spacecraft of his design (Voyager) be the first to escape the solar system, and click an actual photo of the entire solar system.
Of course, all this aside, Carl Sagan was most well-known for 13-episode, documentary-style television show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which went on to win a Peabody Award, and two Emmy Awards. It goes without saying, whatever he did, he did very well. Broadcast in 1980, the series examined complex scientific concepts in a way that the average American could understand, with topics ranging from the history of astronomical observation to the structure of the atom.
Sagan's legendary sense of wonder permeated the show and made these concepts appealing to a wide audience, cementing his fame as the public face of planetary science. His status as a "celebrity-scientist" extended well beyond Cosmos' run. He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson a whopping 26 times, calling the late-night talk show "the biggest classroom in history."
The New York Times Book Review, James Michener described Cosmos as ''a cleverly written, imaginatively illustrated summary of his geological, anthropological, biological, historical and astronomical ruminations about our universe,'' and added, ''His style is iridescent, with lights flashing upon unexpected juxtapositions of thought.''
An aspect of his life most people are unfamiliar with are, is his political advocacy. Sagan strongly believed that human beings were altering their environment in a way that would become unsustainable, and was an early believer in the concept of global warming. He was also an early opponent of Ronald Reagan's Cold War-era Space Defense Initiative, also known as "Star Wars." In 1982, Sagan, along with former students James Pollack and Brian Toon, as well as colleagues Rich Turco and Tom Ackerman, concluded that "the smoke from as few as 100 burning cities, when lofted into the stratosphere, could lead to severe global cooling."
In the journal Science, they dubbed this cooling effect "nuclear winter" and suggested that "even a less-than-full-scale nuclear exchange… could cause global cooling and collapse of agriculture" that could potentially endanger the entire planet. This theory, Sagan argued, rendered the concept of nuclear war obsolete. Sagan later led a delegation to meet with Pope John Paul II, who then issued a papal statement against building nuclear arsenals.
The man was the definition of what one with a vision could achieve. He threw his hat into many rings and didn’t fail to impress in any. Not only did he strive to bring the sciences to the public but also he managed to be somewhat of a stellar role-model for those who wish to make an impact. He had the gravitas to capture millions and more than enough ideas to spread.
RICHARD FEYNMAN:
Sometimes a person who thinks in an unusual way can look at the world from a different point of view, or with a different level of understanding. From a young age, Richard Phillips Feynman, born on May 11th of 1918, began displaying a number of unusual traits some of which was attributed to a severe learning disability. Despite his “disability,” Feynman is a role model change maker because of how he transformed the world with his work in particle physics and his role in the development of nuclear weapons.
Although Feynman’s work in physics is astounding, his personal traits and skills are what really makes him unique. Feynman's scientific work certainly makes him a role model changemaker for somebody interested in science, but his personal achievements are something everybody can identify with. Feynman’s whole life was full of challenges: speech impairment, poor grades in writing and the arts, religious discrimination, and even cancer. He persevered through it all, teaching what he loved and doing work that he loved until the day he died, and I think that’s what puts him apart from the rest.
He was passionate and through sharing his passion he taught. He was awarded the Oersted Medal for Teaching in 1972. He was an enigma, and even though he was able to cut through incredibly hard mathematic concepts he was able to retain his childlike passion for his subjects. His ability to simplify concepts without essentially ‘dumbing things down’ is one that is not seen in everyone.
As a professor, he developed a method of teaching called the Feynman methods. Feynman diagrams, Feynman integrals, and Feynman rules joined Feynman stories in the everyday conversation of physicists. They would say of a promising young colleague, “He’s no Feynman, but….” His fellow physicists envied his flashes of inspiration and admired him for other qualities as well: a faith in nature’s simple truths, a skepticism about official wisdom, and an impatience with mediocrity.
Richard Feynman believed in simplicity. He was brilliant but as correctly put by his colleagues, “he was a full-blown magician: someone who does things that nobody else could do and that seem completely unexpected.”
NIEL DEGRASSE TYSON:
Tyson is best known as an ardent popularizer of astronomy and astrophysics. He has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including having an asteroid named after him and NASA’s 2004 Distinguished Public Service Medal. He has also served on two presidential commissions concerned with the aerospace industry and space exploration.
Tyson promotes himself as “Your Everyday Astrophysicist.” He is the next in line after Carl Sagan to bring the sciences to the masses. He has published a grand total of eight books, hosts multiple shows at the Hayden Planetarium, New York. He most notedly started the movement to declare Pluto as a dwarf planet. In fact, he alone disproved its status as a planet.
In high demand across the country, he often gives lectures on science and astronomy at conferences and academic events. He has been known to be rather expressive of his views on science and its future. He hosts a podcast called Star Talk, television show called ScienceNow and is even known for appearances on talk shows like ‘The Late Night Show’, and ‘The Daily Show’ and on television shows like ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine'.
These are people with a vision. They want to educate people of the prospects of STEM fields, the potential of great scientific expansion. These are the people who young scientists to-be look up to, and while there is a whole line of people who have accomplished a whole lot more than these, what sets them apart is their vision of science not being a niche on must study hard to achieve, but rather a hobby to satiate the innate human inquisition.
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