This gallery is part of the TechXchange: Workers in Science and Engineering (WISE).
What you’ll learn:
- Who and what are celebrity scientists?
- The many achievements of these celeb scientists.
Celebrity scientists, or scientific celebrities, are those who capture audiences far and wide via public attention, typically through the media. While this might seem prevalent in modern times, the phenomenon is centuries old. Issac Newton became widely known in the U.K., and the rest of the world after he published his theories of motion in the 17th century. He also had a hype man (Voltaire) to push his reputation, like a renaissance Flavor Flav sporting a black wig made popular by Louis XIV.
By the 20th century there were myriad notable celebrity scientists who were written about or filmed on many occasions due to their scientific achievements or contributions, including Einstein, Hoyle, Oppenheimer, and others. This became increasingly prevalent with the introduction of modern television and the internet, which brought charismatic scientists such as Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking into our living rooms.
With that in mind, we will take a look at some of the latest scientific celebrities who have become prominent over the last few decades and what makes them famous. These are just a few of the celebrity scientists who have educated and entertained audiences over the last decades, those who have become household names either through television, streaming services, podcasts, books and musical bands.
Chances are if you’ve never heard of them, there’s a good chance your kids or other young family members know them. The important thing is that science has become prevalent in media of all kinds, and will continue to evolve, educate, and entertain audiences over the coming decades with the latest wonders that have been discovered.
- Michio Kaku
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Bill Nye
- Stephen Hawking
- Carl Sagan
- Brian Cox
- Becky Smethurst
- Emily Calandrelli