Biography
Jim Bell is a Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University in Tempe and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is a prolific author and commentator on astronomy and space exploration, and he has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CNN's This American Morning, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, PBS's NewsHour, as well as on NPR's Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Science Friday, and other radio shows. He is President of The Planetary Society, the world's largest public space advocacy organization, and he blogs regularly for The Planetary Society, The Huffington Post Science, and other outlets.
Jim is an active astronomy and planetary science researcher and educator involved in many recent NASA robotic space mission projects. He is the recipient of a dozen NASA Group Achievement awards, was the 2011 recipient of the American Astronomical Society's Carl Sagan Medal for excellence in public communication of planetary science, and the International Astronomical Union has named the asteroid "8146 Jimbell" in his honor. He enjoys giving exciting and visually-rich public talks about space exploration to groups and organizations around the world.