Carl Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. He is best known for his work as a science popularizer and communicator, and he was also the author of several books including Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot, and The Demon-Haunted World. He was a professor of astronomy and space sciences at Cornell University and was the director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Astronomical Society. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1978 for his book The Dragons of Eden.