- By Dan Veaner
- News
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The petition will be part of the materials submitted to the Postal Service to make a case for a Sagan stamp. While Fish says that Sagan's contributions to popularizing science in the U.S. are well known, he plans to submit overwhelming materials to support his nominee. "We're confident that it will be approved, because the merit of Carl Sagan is pretty well understood," he says.
 Designed by Greg Mort |  Designed by Lisa Hutter and Chris Fix |
A citizen's advisory committee was established by the Postmaster General half a century ago to review nominations for commemorative stamps. Nominations may include petitions, letters, or other supporting materials. The Postal Service advises that it typically takes three years before a stamp appears in post offices, once it has been approved. Subjects must feature Americans of widespread national appeal who are no longer living. Proponents of a nominee aren't even told whether their nomination has been successful until the new stamp is announced to the public.
Sagan was a Professor of Astronomy of Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. An accomplished scientist and advisor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), he was best known for his books that popularized science, explaining astronomy in terms that engaged millions of non-scientists. Best known was the book 'Cosmos,' and the public television series it inspired. He also wrote fiction, notably 'Contact,' which was the basis for a Hollywood film starring Jodie Foster in 1997, the year after Sagan passed away.
This isn't the first tribute to Sagan that the Sciencenter has made. A year after his death the museum created the 'Sagan Planet Walk,' a series of monuments that represent the sun and all the planets in our solar system. The monuments are placed to scale between the Ithaca commons and the Sciencenter along the .7456 mile walk, each one labeled with facts about the planet it represents.
Charles Trutmann (left) and Patrick Fish unveil stamp designs
Trautmann read a letter from Ann Druyan, Sagan's wife and co-writer of the 'Cosmos' television series. Druyan had planned to attend the press conference, but was striken by the flu. "Carl was an avid stamp collector as a boy, and we treasure the albums that he made then," she wrote. "They're filled with his handwritten notes in the margins, perhaps the earliest evidence of his passion for the diversity of Earth's cultures. So this particular tribute to Carl would have held special significance for him, as it does for me."
Druyan said that it was appropriate that the initiative be kicked off at the Sciencenter, because Sagan had been involved in the museum as an advisor since its inception. "Carl was a very staunch advocate of science museums," Trautmann added. "He was a member of our advisory board here from its inception in 1990. He was one of the people we consulted early on about how we should portray science, his way of looking at science and using science to make the world a better place."
Four designs were unveiled by California illustrator Pat Linse, the Amherst, NY team of Lisa Hutter and Chris Fix, and by Syracuse artist Greg Mort. Fish said that the Postal Service often commissions its own artists to create new stamps, but that he thinks the four designs are good candidates. He noted that Mort has a background with the Postal Service and has been commissioned to design stamps for NASA.
 Designed by Pat Linse |  Designed by Pat Linse |
Petitions will be available on the Sagan Appreciation Society's Web site as well as on the Sciencenter Web site to be printed and mailed, or electronically recorded. Trautmann added that individual letters describing the impact Sagan had on individuals and their appreciation of science will have significant influence on the committee's deliberations, and that a large volume of signatures will lend convincing support.
"There's something in the air of late that signifies our country is awakening from a long bad dream," Druyan wrote. "We are rediscovering the values that once distinguished us as a nation. Surely one of the most precious of these is the scientific perspective. A U.S. postal stamp in honor of Carl Sagan would be another point on this hopeful curve."
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