Bill Nye "the Science Guy" will be this year's featured speaker for the Â鶹ƵµÀ Phi Beta Kappa Speakers Series, underwritten by the Ruenitz Trust Endowment.
Nye, a scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor, will speak Saturday, April 10 at 10 a.m. in Johnson Hall 200. The topic of his presentation will be: "Our Planet Isn't What It Used to Be, So Let's Change the World!"
A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Nye began his career by working as an engineer at Boeing by day and doing standup at night. He eventually quit his day job and made the transition to full-time job as a comedy writer and performer on Seattle's home-grown ensemble comedy show "Almost Live." This is where "Bill Nye the Science Guy" was born. The show appeared before "Saturday Night Live" and later on Comedy Central. Nye made a number of award-winning shows, including the show he became so well known for, "Bill Nye the Science Guy." While working on the "Science Guy," Nye won seven Emmy awards for writing, performing, and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. In between creating the shows, he wrote five children's books about science, including his latest title, "Bill Nye's Great Big Book of Tiny Germs."
Nye is the host of three currently running television series. "The 100 Greatest Discoveries" airs on the Science Channel. "The Eyes of Nye" airs on PBS stations across the country. His latest project is hosting a show on Planet Green called "Stuff Happens." It's about environmentally responsible choices that consumers can make.
For the last few years, Nye has served as vice president of The Planetary Society, the world's largest space-interest group. He is a Frank H.T. Rhodes Visiting Professor at Cornell. He has worked extensively to set up and promote the EarthDial Project, a set of sundials around the world connected via the Internet. Nye has two patents on educational products--a magnifier made of water and an abacus that does arithmetic like a computer. An occasional athlete, he has a patent pending on a device to help people learn to throw a baseball better. His next patent is an improved toe shoe for ballerinas.
Nye holds honorary doctorates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Goucher College, and Johns Hopkins University.
No reservations are required for his lecture at Occidental, which is free. Seating is limited. For directions, visit /x119.xml. Parking is available in the Visitors Parking Lot. For more information, contact Amy Reyes at (323) 259-1456 or events@oxy.edu.
