Bill Nye — the Science Guy —brings enthusiasm to campus

Bill Nye will share his infectious enthusiasm for science and explore how the latest scientific advancements relate to social policy and change lives during his Assembly Series talk at 11 a.m. Sept. 13 in Graham Chapel.

Bill Nye
Bill Nye

Nye has become a household name with his innovative television series, and he has spent his career trying to make science fun and accessible. His teaching skills and humor have encouraged a generation of young people and their parents to understand the science that makes the world work.

He is a scientist, an engineer, a comedian, an author and an inventor. After graduating from Cornell University in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Nye worked as an engineer for Boeing in Seattle. (He designed a hydraulic resonance suppressor tube that is still flying on Boeing 747s.) It was while he was in Seattle that Nye combined his love for science with his talent for comedy.

While writing and performing for a Seattle comedy ensemble television show, he developed the “Bill Nye the ScienceGuy” persona. From 1992-98, he wrote, produced and performed for his Emmy Award-winning television series. His current show,”The Eyes of Nye,” airs on PBS stations. Aimed at adults, it features episodes based on topical subjects such as genetically-modified foods, climate warming and race.

In 2005, he hosted “100 Greatest Discoveries,” an award-winning series for Discovery’s Science Channel. He writes a column on the MSN Encarta Web site called “Ask Bill Nye.”

Studying under astronomer Carl Sagan at Cornell, Nye developed a love for the field. He assisted in the development of a small sundial that was included in the Mars Exploration Rovers mission.

Nye is vice president of The Planetary Society. He holds several patents, including one for an abacus that does arithmetic like a computer. He has written five science books for children, including Bill Nye’s Great Big Book of Tiny Germs.

Since 2001, he has visited Cornell regularly as part of the Frank H.T. Rhodes Visiting Professorship.

EnCouncil, the undergraduate student council in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is sponsoring the event, which is free and open to the public.

For more information, call 935-4620 or go online to assemblyseries.wustl.edu.