AwardeesKeynote Speaker • Derrick Pitts, Ph.D.
Chief Astronomer, The Franklin
Derrick Pitts has been associated with The Franklin since 1978, designing and presenting many of
the museum’s public programs and exhibits. Pitts served as the director of the Tuttleman Omniverse (now IMAX Dome) Theater during its first five years of operation,
museum vice-president and many other valued positions. He has been Chief Astronomer and Director of the Fels Planetarium since 1990. Pitts is the founder and president of the
Planetarium Production Alliance, an international consortium of planetarium theaters, science institutions, and corporations partnered to produce high-quality planetarium
content.
Pitts is a scientific consultant to many organizations. He has written numerous astronomy columns for newspapers and national magazines. He appears regularly on all the major television networks as a science content expert and for more than a decade has hosted award-winning astronomy radio programs on Philadelphia’s WHYY 91 FM. Pitts is also a regular guest commentator on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, the highest rated program on MSNBC. He has been the resident “Science Guy” for WXPN’s award-winning radio program ‘Kids’ Corner’ for 15 years.
Among his many awards are the Mayor’s Liberty Bell, the St. Lawrence University Distinguished Alumni Award, the G.W. Carver Medal, the Please Touch Museum’s “Great Friend To Kids” Award; induction into the Germantown Historical Society Hall of Fame, selection as one of the “50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science” by Science Spectrum Magazine in 2004 and the 2005 “Men Making a Difference in the Community” Award for Excellence in Science and Technology from the Legacy of Love Foundation.
Pitts currently serves as the University Honors Committee Chair on the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, St. Lawrence University and is currently president of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
