TIME has named University of California, Davis Distinguished Research Professor Tony Tyson, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, to the 2026 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In the write-up about Tyson, who is chief scientist of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, TIME published:
"The new Vera C. Rubin Observatory is beginning the work it was created for: a 10-year time-lapse of the entire southern sky known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The Chilean observatory’s first images were released in June. Taken with a record-breaking 3,200-megapixel camera, they reveal the complex dance of nearby galaxies, with tens of millions more beckoning in the distance. Rubin’s power lies in its never-before combination: wide, fast, and deep at the same time.
Thirty years ago, astronomer Tony Tyson had the vision to suggest this intriguing path, and the persistence to build something many thought impossible. Throughout the construction, Tony, as chief scientist, played a critical role in tackling some of the thorniest research problems, pushing the boundaries of detector and survey design and transforming a bold idea into a flagship observatory. The LSST will reveal millions of new objects every night—from asteroids to distant supernovae to collisions of neutron stars—and will map 20 billion galaxies and 20 billion stars, opening new discovery windows into the dark and dynamic universe, and yielding a treasure trove of data for scientists to explore."
The TIME100 list recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. The full list and related tributes appear in the April 27, 2026, issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, April 17, and now online here.
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