Ann Druyan ( ; born June 13, 1949) is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American documentary producer and director specializing in the communication of science. She co-wrote the 1980
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
documentary series ''
Cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
'', hosted by
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
, whom she married in 1981. She is the creator, producer, and writer of the 2014 sequel, ''
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'' and its sequel series, ''
Cosmos: Possible Worlds'', as well as the book of the same name. She directed episodes of both series.
In the late 1970s, she became the Creative Director of NASA's
Voyager Interstellar Message Project, which produced the golden discs affixed to both the ''
Voyager 1
''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voyag ...
'' and ''
Voyager 2
''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, ''Voyager 1'', on ...
'' spacecraft.
She also published a novel, ''A Famous Broken Heart'', in 1977, and later co-wrote several best selling non-fiction books with Sagan.
Early life
Druyan was born in
Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
, the daughter of Pearl A. () and Harry Druyan, who co-owned a knitwear firm. Druyan's early interest in math and science was, in her word, "derailed" when a junior high-school teacher ridiculed a question she asked about the universality of
. "I raised my hand and said, 'You mean this applies to every circle in the universe?', and the teacher told me not to ask stupid questions. And there I was having this religious experience, and she made me feel like such a fool. I was completely flummoxed from then on until after college." Druyan characterized her three years at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
as "disastrous", and it was only after she left school without graduating that she discovered the
pre-Socratic philosophers
Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of the ...
and began educating herself, thus leading to a renewed interest in science.
Career
In the late 1970s, Druyan became the Creative Director of NASA's
Voyager Interstellar Message Project.
As creative director, Druyan worked with a team to design a complex message, including music and images, for possible alien civilizations. These golden phonograph records affixed to the ''
Voyager 1
''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voyag ...
'' and ''
Voyager 2
''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, ''Voyager 1'', on ...
'' spacecraft are now beyond the outermost planets of the solar system, and ''Voyager 1'' has entered interstellar space. Both records have a projected shelf life of one billion years.
Druyan's role on the project was discussed on the July 8, 2018, 60 Minutes segment "The Little Spacecraft That Could". In the segment, Druyan explained her insistence that Chuck Berry's "
Johnny B. Goode" be included on the Golden Record, saying: "...''Johnny B. Goode'', rock and roll, was the music of motion, of moving, getting to someplace you've never been before, and the odds are against you, but you want to go. That was Voyager." The segment also discussed Sagan's suggestion, in 1990, that Voyager 1 turn its cameras back towards Earth to take a series of photographs showing the planets of our solar system. The shots, showing Earth from a distance of 3.7 billion miles as a small point of bluish light, became the basis for Sagan's famous "
Pale Blue Dot
''Pale Blue Dot'' is a photograph of planet Earth taken on February 14, 1990, by the ''Voyager 1'' space probe from a record distance of about kilometers ( miles, 40.5 AU), as part of that day's ''Family Portrait'' series of images of the ...
" passage, first published in ''
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space'' (1994).
During that time, Druyan also co-wrote (with
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
and
Steven Soter
Steven Soter is an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence for New York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural Hi ...
) the 1980
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
documentary series ''
Cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
'', hosted by Carl Sagan. The thirteen-part series covered a wide range of scientific subjects, including the
origin of life
In biology, abiogenesis (from a- 'not' + Greek bios 'life' + genesis 'origin') or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothes ...
and a perspective of our place in the universe. It was highly acclaimed, and became the most widely watched series in the history of American
public television
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
at that time. The series won two
Emmys
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, and has since been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people.
A
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
was also published to accompany the series. , it is still the most widely watched PBS series in the world. Several revised versions of the series were later broadcast; one version, telecast after Sagan's death, opens with Druyan paying tribute to her late husband and the impact of ''Cosmos'' over the years.
![Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson and Ann Druyan in Sydney](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Dr_Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_and_Ann_Druyan_in_Sydney.JPG)
Druyan wrote and produced the 1987
PBS ''NOVA'' episode "Confessions of a Weaponeer" on the life of
President Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
's Science Advisor
George Kistiakowsky
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
.
In 2000, Druyan, together with Steve Soter, co-wrote ''Passport to the Universe'', the inaugural planetarium show for the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Natural History Museum's Hayden Planetarium. The attraction is narrated by Tom Hanks. Druyan and Soter also co-wrote ''The Search for Life: Are We Alone'', narrated by Harrison Ford, which also debuted at the Hayden's Rose Center.
In 2000, Druyan co-founded Cosmos Studios, Inc, with
Joseph Firmage. As CEO of Cosmos Studios, Druyan produces science-based entertainment for all media. In addition to ''
Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey'', Cosmos Studios has produced ''Cosmic Africa'', ''Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt'', and the
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-nominated documentary ''Cosmic Journey: The Voyager Interstellar Mission and Message''. In 2009, she distributed a series of
podcasts called ''At Home in the Cosmos with Annie Druyan'', in which she described her works, the life of her husband,
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
, and their marriage.
Druyan is credited, with Carl Sagan, as the co-creator and co-producer of the 1997 feature film ''
Contact
Contact may refer to:
Interaction Physical interaction
* Contact (geology), a common geological feature
* Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye
* Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects
* ...
''.
In 2011, it was announced that Druyan would executive produce, co-write, and be one of the episodic directors for a sequel to ''
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'', to be called ''
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'', which began airing in March 2014. Episodes premiered on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
and also aired on
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
on the following night. At the time of its release, Fox gave the series the largest global rollout of a television series ever, debuting it in 180 countries. The premiere episode was shown across nine of Fox's cable properties in addition to the broadcast network in a "roadblock" style premiere. The series went on to become the most-watched series ever for National Geographic Channel International, with at least some part of the 13-episode series watched by 135 million people, including 45 million in the U.S.
In March 2020, a third season of ''Cosmos'', named ''
Cosmos: Possible Worlds'', for which Druyan was executive producer, writer, and director, premiered on
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
. Druyan also said: "I very much have season four in mind, and I know what it's going to be. And I even know some of the stories that I want to tell in it."
[
]
Writing
Druyan's first novel, ''A Famous Broken Heart'', was published in 1977.
Druyan co-wrote six ''New York Times'' bestsellers with Carl Sagan, including: ''Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
'', '' Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors'', and ''The Demon-Haunted World
''The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'' is a 1995 book by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan and co-authored by Ann Druyan, in which the authors aim to explain the scientific method to laypeople and to encourage people to learn c ...
''. She is co-author, along with Carl Sagan, F. D. Drake, Timothy Ferris
Timothy Ferris (born August 29, 1944) is an American science writer and the best-selling author of twelve books, including ''The Science of Liberty'' (2010) and ''Coming of Age in the Milky Way'' (1988), for which he was awarded the American ...
, Jon Lomberg Jon Lomberg (born 1948) is an American space artist and science journalist. He was Carl Sagan's principal artistic collaborator for more than twenty years on many projects from 1972 through 1996. In 1998, the International Astronomical Union offici ...
and Linda Salzman Sagan
Linda Salzman is an American artist and writer.
Biography
Salzman created the artwork for the plaque on the Pioneer spacecraft and coproduced the Voyager Golden Record.
She co-authored the book '' Murmurs of Earth'' with her husband, astronome ...
, of ''Murmurs Of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record''. She also wrote the updated introduction to Sagan's book '' The Cosmic Connection'' and the epilogue of ''Billions and Billions
''Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium'' is a 1997 book by the American astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan. The last book written by Sagan before his death in 1996, it was published by Rando ...
''. She wrote the introduction to, and edited '' The Varieties of Scientific Experience'', published from Sagan's 1985 Gifford lectures
The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...
.
In February 2020, Druyan published ''Cosmos: Possible Worlds'', a companion volume to the television series of the same name, which premiered in March 2020.
Work in science
Druyan is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims for the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Druyan served as program director of the first solar-sail deep-space mission, Cosmos 1
Cosmos 1 was a project by Cosmos Studios and The Planetary Society to test a solar sail in space. As part of the project, an unmanned solar-sail spacecraft named ''Cosmos 1'' was launched into space at 19:46:09 UTC (15:46:09 EDT) on 21 June ...
, launched on a Russian ICBM in 2005.
Druyan is involved in multiple Breakthrough Initiatives
Breakthrough Initiatives is a science-based program founded in 2015 and funded by Julia and Yuri Milner, also of Breakthrough Prize, to search for extraterrestrial intelligence over a span of at least 10 years. The program is divided into multiple ...
. With Frank Drake
Frank Donald Drake (May 28, 1930 – September 2, 2022) was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist.
He began his career as a radio astronomer, studying the planets of the Solar System and later pulsars. Drake expanded his interests t ...
, Druyan is the co-chair of Breakthrough Message
Breakthrough Initiatives is a science-based program founded in 2015 and funded by Julia and Yuri Milner, also of Breakthrough Prize, to search for extraterrestrial intelligence over a span of at least 10 years. The program is divided into multiple ...
and also a member of Breakthrough Starshot
Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project by the Breakthrough Initiatives to develop a Proof of concept, proof-of-concept fleet of light sail interstellar probes named ''Starchip'', to be capable of making the journey to the A ...
.
She is a member of the advisory board of The Carl Sagan Institute
The Carl Sagan Institute: Pale Blue Dot and Beyond was founded in 2014 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York to further the search for habitable planets and moons in and outside the Solar System. It is focused on the characterization of exop ...
.
Activism
Druyan has for many years been a vocal advocate for nuclear disarmament. She was arrested three times at the Mercury, Nevada
Mercury is a closed village in Nye County, Nevada, United States, north of U.S. Route 95 at a point northwest of Las Vegas. It is situated within the Nevada National Security Site and was constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission to hou ...
nuclear test site during Mikhail Gorbachev's unilateral moratorium on underground nuclear testing, with which President Ronald Reagan did not cooperate. This included an arrest in June 1986, when she crossed a white painted line indicating the test site's boundary. Sagan, who attended the same protest with Druyan, was not arrested.
In the early 1990s, Druyan worked with Sagan and then-Senator Al Gore, Jr. and a host of religious and scientific leaders to bring the scientific and religious worlds together in a unified effort to preserve the environment, resulting in the ''Declaration of the 'Mission to Washington''.
She was a founding director of the Children's Health Fund until the spring of 2004, a project that provides mobile pediatric care to homeless and disadvantaged children in more than half a dozen cities. She is currently a member of their advisory board.
She has been on the board of directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Acc ...
(NORML) for over 10 years and was its president from 2006 to 2010.
Honors
An asteroid discovered in 1988 was named in Druyan's honor by its discoverer Eleanor F. Helin
Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...
. In a 2020 interview with ''Skeptical Inquirer
''Skeptical Inquirer'' is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: ''The Magazine for Science and Reason''.
Mission statement and goals
Daniel Loxton, writing in ...
'', Druyan discussed 4970 Druyan and the asteroid named after her late husband, saying that 4970 Druyan is in a "wedding ring orbit" around the Sun with 2709 Sagan
2709 Sagan, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 March 1982, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anders ...
. Druyan was presented with a plaque on Sagan's sixtieth birthday, which is inscribed: "Asteroid 2709 Sagan in eternal companion orbit with asteroid 4970 Druyan, symbolic of their love and admiration for each other."[
In November 2006, Druyan was a speaker at " Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival".
In January 2007, she was a juror at the ]2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007, in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' Chica ...
, responsible for selecting the winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for films about science and technology.
In November 2007, Druyan was awarded the title of "Humanist Laureate" by the International Academy of Humanism.
In October 2019, the Center for Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government.
History
The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...
West opened the Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
–Ann Druyan Theater in Los Angeles.
Religious and philosophical views
In an interview with Joel Achenbach
Joel LeRoy Achenbach (; born December 31, 1960) is an American staff writer for ''The Washington Post'' and the author of seven books, including '' A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea'', ''The Grand Idea'', ''Captured by Aliens'', ''It Looks Like a Pr ...
of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', Druyan said that her early interest in science stemmed from a fascination with Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
. Achenbach commented that "She had, at the time, rather vaporous standards of evidence", a reference to her belief in the ancient astronauts
Ancient astronauts (or ancient aliens) refers to a pseudoscientific hypothesis which holds that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents suggest that this ...
of Erich von Däniken
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Von D ...
and the theories of Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky (; rus, Иммануи́л Велико́вский, p=ɪmənʊˈil vʲɪlʲɪˈkofskʲɪj; 17 November 1979) was a Jewish, Russian-American psychoanalyst, writer, and catastrophist. He is the author of several books offering ...
pertaining to the solar system.
Concerning the death of her husband she stated:
When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me—it still sometimes happens—and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don't ever expect to be reunited with Carl.
Personal life
Druyan and Sagan's working and resulting romantic relationship has been the subject of numerous treatments in popular culture, including the Radiolab
''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first offe ...
episode "Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan's Ultimate Mix Tape" and a segment of the Comedy Central program ''Drunk History
''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's exec ...
''s episode "Space". The asteroid 4970 Druyan, which is in a companion orbit with asteroid 2709 Sagan
2709 Sagan, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 March 1982, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anders ...
named after Druyan's late husband, is named after Druyan.[ In 2015, it was announced that Warner Brothers was in development on a drama about Sagan and Druyan's relationship, to be produced by producer Lynda Obst and Druyan.
In 2020, Sagan and Druyan's daughter Sasha Sagan released a book ''For Small Creatures Such As We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in our Unlikely World'', which discusses life with her parents and her father's death when she was fourteen years old.]
Druyan also gave Sasha a recurring role in '' Cosmos: Possible Worlds'', where she played her own grandmother, including in the episode ''Man of a Trillion Worlds'', which featured the life of Carl Sagan.[
]
Awards
* 2004 Richard Dawkins Award
The Richard Dawkins Award is an annual prize awarded by the Center for Inquiry (CFI). It was established in 2003 and was initially awarded by the Atheist Alliance of America coordinating with Richard Dawkins and the Richard Dawkins Foundation ...
* 2014 Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming Primetime Emmy Award
* 2015 The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television from Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...
* 2015 Writers Guild Award for "Documentary Script – Other than Current Events"
* 2017 Harvard Humanist of the Year Award
* 2020 National Geographic Further Award
See also
* Women in science
The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made significant contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...
References
External links
* Ann Druyan
The Observatory
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Druyan, Ann
1949 births
20th-century American novelists
Activists from New York (state)
American agnostics
American cannabis activists
American science writers
American skeptics
American women novelists
Carl Sagan
Hugo Award-winning writers
Interstellar messages
Living people
People associated with the American Museum of Natural History
People from Queens, New York
Sagan family
Scientists from New York (state)