You’d be forgiven for thinking that it was her lovely 2005 book “The Planets” that put Dava in consideration for the Cosmos Award. The highly personal and evocative collection of essays about the worlds of our Solar System played a role in the decision, but only as additional evidence of her ability to bring science alive on the page.
The Planetary Society’s board of directors recognized that Dava’s writing stands as testament to the power of storytelling in science. She shows us that the Universe is explained not just through equations and experiments but through human stories, making distant historical figures breathe again, and allowing us to see science through their eyes and feel their wonder. These gifts made her an ideal recipient of the Cosmos Award.
Dava joined us in Washington, D.C., on the evening of May 30 to be celebrated by Bill Nye, our board of directors, and special guests. In her quietly eloquent acceptance speech, Dava shared how very honored she was to receive this award named for one of the greatest achievements of Carl Sagan, the person she credits with having set her on her course so many years ago.
Dava first met Carl Sagan when she interviewed him at Cornell University for an article in a local paper. He wrote her a letter of recommendation that helped her get a writing job at the institution. Later, as production of “Cosmos” was getting underway, Carl would again recommend Dava as a great choice for the public information agent who would be present as shooting proceeded around the world.
Bronx-born Dava was herself soon recognized across our pale blue dot as a gifted writer. She won the British Book of the Year award for “Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.” In 1999, she penned “Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love.” It would become a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Our paths began to cross in the fall of 2023. Dava offered to adapt “Galileo’s Daughter” for a very special stage presentation. Under the direction of Planetary Society board member Robert Picardo, celebrated actors John Rhys-Davies and Linda Purl became Galileo and his brilliant, convent-sequestered daughter, Sister Maria Celeste. They recited a portion of the long thread of letters that had inspired Dava to create the book.
That enchanted event gave me my first opportunity to talk with Dava. She would return for more Planetary Radio interviews over the following years. Every conversation was as magical, captivating, and entertaining as her books.