Astronomer, author; born in New York City. He began teaching at Harvard University (1962--68) while also working as an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Observatory (1962--68). At Cornell University from 1970, his enthusiasm for space science and the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe stimulated the public's interest through such works as the television series Cosmos (1977) and books like the Cosmic Connection (1973), Contact (1985), and (with Ann Druyen), Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1992).