We believe there’s a superhero in each of us. True Superheroes celebrates people who’ve overcome adversity, made amazing contributions to society, and inspired others to do the same. Each week we nominate people in different fields. This week we focus on Physics!

Neil deGrasse Tyson

When Neil was nine years old his parents took him to Hayden Planetarium where he “felt as if he could see forever”. He worked throughout his childhood to pay for bigger and better telescopes to see even further and grew up to become Earth’s most famous astrophysicist. Along the way, he’s turned Manhattan into an astronomical calendar, canceled Pluto, and helped Superman find his home planet. Now he’s striving to save Earth from cosmic dangers.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

As a child, Jocelyn was told she could only study cooking and sewing; she went on to become the only woman studying physics in a college where sexist harassment was a student tradition. When she made one of the most important astronomical discoveries of the 20th Century her supervisor told her she was wrong, before claiming the Nobel Prize that should have been hers. Now she’s celebrated as a pioneer and using her resources to help the next generation of women scientists avoid the battles she had to fight.

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Brian May

As a promising young physicist, Brian May received a personal invitation to study alongside the world’s most prominent astronomer; he chose instead to become the world’s most prominent rock guitarist. Forty years and 170m in record sales later, Brian returned to his studies to complete his PhD; now Dr. May is using his voice to help raise awareness of mental health issues and campaign on the environment and animal rights.