David H. Grinspoon (born 1959) is an American

astrobiologist Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that inves ...

. He is Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and was the former inaugural

Baruch S. Blumberg Baruch Samuel Blumberg (July 28, 1925 April 5, 2011), known as Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, and co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek), for his work on the hepat ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Chair in Astrobiology for 2012-2013. His research focuses on comparative planetology, with a focus on climate evolution on Earth-like planets and implications for habitability. He has also studied, written and lectured on the human influence on Earth, as seen in cosmic perspective. He has published four books, ''Venus Revealed'', which was a finalist for the

Los Angeles Times book prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ...

, ''Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life'', which won the 2004 PEN literary award for nonfiction, ''Earth in Human Hands'', which was named one of NPR's

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by award-wi ...

"Best Science Books of 2016" and ''Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto'', co-authored with

Alan Stern Sol Alan Stern (born November 22, 1957) is an American engineer and planetary scientist. He is the principal investigator of the ''New Horizons'' mission to Pluto and the Chief Scientist at Moon Express. Stern has been involved in 24 suborbita ...

. He is adjunct professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Science at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

Early life

Grinspoon was born in 1959. His father was Harvard psychiatrist and author

Lester Grinspoon Lester Grinspoon (June 24, 1928 – June 25, 2020) was an American psychiatrist and long-standing associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School best known for his groundbreaking works on the science and social policy of canna ...

. He holds degrees in Philosophy of Science and Planetary Science from Brown University and a PhD in Planetary Science from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. He is the nephew of real estate developer and philanthropist Harold Grinspoon.

Career

Grinspoon serves as an advisor to

on space exploration strategy and as an Interdisciplinary Scientist on the European Space Agency's

Venus Express ''Venus Express'' (VEX) was the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and began continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. ...

spacecraft mission to Venus. In addition to being a science team member of the

NASA Astrobiology Institute The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was established in 1998 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) "to develop the field of astrobiology and provide a scientific framework for flight missions." In December 2019 the institute ...

Titan Team, he serves as science Co-Investigator and team lead for Education and Public Outreach for the

Radiation Assessment Detector The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) is an instrument mounted on the Mars Science Laboratory ''Curiosity'' rover. It was the first of ten instruments to be turned on during the mission. Purpose The first role of RAD was to characterize the b ...

(RAD) on the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigati ...

. His popular writing has appeared in numerous periodicals, such as Slate,

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...

, Natural History,

The Sciences ''The Sciences'' was a magazine published from 1961 to 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences. Each issue contained articles that discussed science issues with cultural relevance, illustrated with fine art and an occasional cartoon. The perio ...

Seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

, LA Times, and

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

. Grinspoon's technical papers have been published in

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, and numerous other journals. He has been featured on many television programs including

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's Life Beyond Earth, BBC's The Planets, and History Channel's The Universe, as well as on NPR's Science Fridays,

Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 34 public radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct analog services, the ''Ideas Network'' and the '' NPR News & Music Network,'' as well as the ''All Classic ...

, and BBC World Service shows. He has given invited talks at international conferences throughout the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Grinspoon also writes the bi-monthly "Cosmic Relief" column for

Sky & Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following: *current events in astronomy and space exploration; *events in the amateur astronomy community; *reviews of astronomic ...

magazine, where he is also a contributing editor. In addition, he has appeared several times as a guest, and also as guest host, of

Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a p ...

's popular podcast and live shows ''StarTalk''. In 2013, he was invited to give the Carl Sagan Lecture at the Fall meeting of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...

. Grinspoon currently serves as an adjunct professor at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Awards

Grinspoon has won many awards including the 2006 Carl Sagan Medal by the

Division for Planetary Sciences Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the American Astronomical Society for excellence in public communication of planetary science; Alpha Geek 2007 by

WIRED Magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fr ...

; the 2004 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Research Nonfiction for ''Lonely Planets''; 1997

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ...

Finalist for ''Venus Revealed''; and the 1989

Gerard P. Kuiper Gerard Peter Kuiper (; ; born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper; 7 December 1905 – 23 December 1973) was a Dutch astronomer, planetary scientist, selenographer, author and professor. He is the eponymous namesake of the Kuiper belt. Kuiper is co ...

Memorial Award at the

. In 2018 he was awarded the Eugene Shoemaker Award by the Beyond Center at Arizona State University. In 2022 he was elected as a Lifetime

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

. Asteroid 22410 Grinspoon, a main-belt asteroid, is named after him.

Personal life

Grinspoon is a musician who has played guitar and composed for many bands. Currently, he is performing with the House Band of the Universe. He lives in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

with his wife.

Notable works

*''Venus Revealed: A New Look Below the Clouds of Our Mysterious Twin Planet'' (1998) *''Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life'' (2004) *''Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future'' (2016) *'' Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grinspoon, David Living people 1959 births Astrobiologists Planetary scientists University of Colorado Boulder faculty American astronomers Brown University alumni University of Arizona alumni