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Bill Nye William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known
as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host,
actor, writer, and scientist who began his career as a mechanical engineer at Boeing.
He is best known as the host of the Disney/PBS children's science show Bill Nye the Science
Guy and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.
Early life and education Nye was born on November 27, 1955 in Washington,
D.C., to Jacqueline (née Jenkins; 1921–2000), a codebreaker during World War II, and Edwin
Darby "Ned" Nye (1917–97), also a World War II veteran, whose experience without electricity
in a Japanese prisoner of war camp led him to become a sundial enthusiast. After attending
Lafayette Elementary and Alice Deal Junior High in the city, he was accepted to the private
Sidwell Friends School on a partial scholarship and graduated in 1973. He studied mechanical
engineering at Cornell University (where one of his professors was Carl Sagan) and graduated
with a Bachelor of Science in 1977. Nye occasionally returns to Cornell as a professor to guest
lecture introductory level astronomy and human ecology classes.
Career Nye began his career in Seattle at Boeing,
where, among other things, he starred in training films and developed a hydraulic pressure resonance
suppressor still used in the 747. Later, he worked as a consultant in the aeronautics
industry. In 1999 he told the St. Petersburg Times that he applied to be a NASA astronaut
every few years, but was always rejected. The Science Guy
Nye began his professional entertainment career as an actor on a local sketch comedy television
show in Seattle, Washington, called Almost Live!; he attempted to correct the show host's
pronunciation of "gigawatt" as "jigowatt." The host responded, "Who do you think you
are—Bill Nye the Science Guy?" and Nye was thereafter known as such on the program. His
other main recurring role on Almost Live! was as Speedwalker, a speedwalking Seattle
superhero. From 1991 to 1993, he appeared in the live-action
educational segments of Back to the Future: The Animated Series in the nonspeaking role
of assistant to Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd), in which he would demonstrate
science while Lloyd explained. The segments' national popularity led to Nye hosting an
educational television program, Bill Nye the Science Guy, from 1993 to 1998. Each of the
100 episodes aimed to teach a specific topic in science to a preteen audience, yet it garnered
a wide adult audience as well. With its comedic overtones, the show became popular as a teaching
aid in schools. Nye has written several books as The Science
Guy. In addition to hosting, he was a writer and producer for the show, which was filmed
entirely in Seattle. When portraying "The Science Guy", Nye wears
a light blue lab coat and bow tie, and takes on the persona of an excited, jocular science
educator. This popular image of Nye has been parodied by numerous sources, including the
webcomic xkcd and the satirical news organization The Onion. In response to the fake headline
"Crack Nearly Killed Me", Nye took the joke in good humor and sent The Onion an email
thanking them for "dealing compassionately with this matter."
Nye's Science Guy persona appears alongside Ellen DeGeneres and Alex Trebek in a video
at Ellen's Energy Adventure, an attraction that has played since 1996 at the Universe
of Energy pavilion inside Epcot at Walt Disney World. His voice is heard in the Dinosaur
attraction in Disney's Animal Kingdom park, teaching guests about the dinosaurs while
they queue for the ride. He appears in video form in the "Design Lab" of CyberSpace Mountain,
inside DisneyQuest at Walt Disney World, where he refers to himself as "Bill Nye the Coaster
Guy." Entertainment/edutainment
Nye remained interested in science education through entertainment. He played a science
teacher in Disney's 1998 TV movie The Principal Takes a Holiday; he made a hovercraft to demonstrate
science in an unusual classroom manner. From 2000 to 2002, Nye was the technical expert
in BattleBots. In 2004 and 2005, Nye hosted 100 Greatest Discoveries, an award-winning
series produced by THINKFilm for The Science Channel and in high definition on the Discovery
HD Theater. He was also host of an eight-part Discovery Channel series called Greatest Inventions
with Bill Nye. He created a 13-episode PBS KCTS-TV series about science, called The Eyes
of Nye, aimed at an older audience than his previous show had been. Airing in 2005, it
often featured episodes based on politically relevant themes such as genetically modified
food, global warming, and race. Nye has guest-starred in several episodes of the crime drama Numb3rs
as an engineering faculty member. A lecture Nye gave several years ago on exciting children
about math was an inspiration for creating Numb3rs. He has also made guest appearances
on the VH1 reality show America's Most Smartest Model.
Nye has appeared numerous times on the talk show Larry King Live, speaking about topics
such as global warming and UFOs. He argued that global warming is an issue that should
be addressed by governments of the world in part because it could be implicated in the
record-setting 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. On UFOs he has been skeptical of extraterrestrial
explanations for sightings such as those at Roswell and Malmstrom Air Force Base in 1967.
Nye appears in segments of The Climate Code on The Weather Channel, telling his personal
ways of saving energy. He still makes regular appearances on the show, often asking quiz
questions. As of fall 2008, Nye also appears on the daytime game show Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire as part of the show's reintroduced "Ask the Expert" lifeline. In 2008, he also
hosted Stuff Happens, a show on the then new Planet Green network. In November 2008, Nye
appeared in an acting role as himself in the fifth-season episode "Brain Storm" of Stargate
Atlantis alongside fellow television personality and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
In 2009, portions of Bill Nye's shows were used as lyrics and portions of the second
Symphony of Science music education video by composer John Boswell. Nye recorded a short
YouTube video (as himself, not his TV persona) advocating clean energy climate change legislation
on behalf of Al Gore's Repower America campaign in October 2009. Bill joined the American
Optometric Association in a multimedia advertising campaign to persuade parents to get their
children comprehensive eye examinations. Nye made an appearance in Palmdale's 2010 video
"Here Comes the Summer"; the band's lead singer Kay Hanley is his neighbor. Nye (as his TV
persona) also made a guest appearance on The Dr. Oz Show.
On March 12, 2011, Nye made an appearance on CNN to discuss the evolving nuclear incidents
in Japan as a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami there. Nye erroneously stated
that cesium is used to "slow and control" the nuclear reaction. In reality, cesium (specifically
cesium-137) is a nuclear fission product, not a control rod material. Nye also erroneously
stated that the nuclear reactor involved in the Three Mile Island incident is still running
(the reactor involved in the incident has been decommissioned, but there is a second
reactor at the site that is still operating as of February 2014) and that the use of boron
to slow the nuclear chain reaction is uncommon, when in fact boron-10 is commonly used in
control rods, and is circulated in the coolant of reactors in the United States, as well
as stored on site as a method of emergency shutdown.
In September 2012, Nye claimed that creationist views threaten science education and innovation
in the United States. In February 2014, Nye debated creationist
Ken Ham on the topic of whether creation is a viable model of origins in today's modern,
scientific era. On February 16, 2014, Nye debated Republican
congresswoman Marsha Blackburn on Meet the Press on the topic of global warming.
Scientific work In the early 2000s, Nye assisted in the development
of a small sundial that was included in the Mars Exploration Rover missions. Known as
MarsDial, it included small colored panels to provide a basis for color calibration in
addition to helping keep track of time. From 2005 to 2010 Nye was the vice president of
The Planetary Society, an organization that advocates space science research and the exploration
of other planets, particularly Mars. He became the organization's second Executive Director
in September 2010 when Louis Friedman stepped down.
In November 2010, Nye became the face of a new permanent exhibition at the Chabot Space
& Science Center in Oakland, California. Bill Nye’s Climate Lab features Nye as commander
of the Clean Energy Space Station, and invites visitors on an urgent mission to thwart climate
change. Beginning with a view of Planet Earth from space, visitors explore air, water, and
land galleries to discover how climate change affects Earth’s connected systems, and how
to use the Sun, wind, land, and water to generate clean energy. In an interview about the exhibit,
Nye said, “Everything in the exhibit is geared to showing you that the size of the
problem of climate change is big. Showing you a lot about energy use... It’s a huge
opportunity... We need young people, entrepreneurs, young inventors, young innovators to change
the world.” Nye gave a solar noon clock atop Rhodes Hall
to Cornell on Aug 27 following a public lecture that filled the 715-seat Statler Auditorium.
Nye talked about his father's passion for sundials and timekeeping, his time at Cornell,
his work on the sundials mounted on the Mars rovers and the story behind the Bill Nye Solar
Noon Clock. Bill Nye conducted a Q&A session after the 2012 Mars Rover Landing.
Nye holds several United States patents, including one for ballet pointe shoes and another for
an educational magnifying glass created by filling a clear plastic bag with water. From
2001 to 2006 Nye served as Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor at Cornell
University. Nye supported the 2006 reclassification of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet by the
International Astronomical Union. Nye is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical
Inquiry, a U.S. non-profit scientific and educational organization whose aim is to promote
scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial
and extraordinary claims. Interviewed by John Rael for the Independent Investigation Group
IIG, Nye stated that his "concern right now... scientific illiteracy... you don't have enough
rudimentary knowledge of the universe to evaluate claims." In November 2012, Nye launched a
Kickstarter project for an educational Aerodynamics game, AERO 3D. The project was not funded.
Dancing with the Stars Nye was a contestant in the 17th season of
Dancing with the Stars, where he was partnered with newcomer Tyne Stecklein. They were eliminated
early in the season after Nye sustained an injury to his quadriceps tendon on Week 3.
Personal life Since 2006, Nye has lived in Los Angeles,
though he has also owned a house on Mercer Island. As of July 2007, Nye and environmental
activist Ed Begley, Jr. are engaging in a friendly competition "to see who could have
the lowest carbon footprint," according to Begley. In a 2008 interview, Nye joked that
he wants to "crush Ed Begley" in their environmental competition. Nye and Begley are neighbors
in Los Angeles, and sometimes dine together at a local vegetarian restaurant. Nye often
appears on Begley's Planet Green reality show Living with Ed. Nye enjoys baseball and occasionally
does experiments involving the physics of the game. As a longtime Seattle resident before
becoming an entertainer, he is said to have been a fan of the Seattle Mariners, although
recently he has voiced his preference (as a D.C. native) for the Washington Nationals.
In July 2012, Nye endorsed President Barack Obama's reelection bid.
In terms of his religious views, Nye has claimed himself to be agnostic.
Nye announced his engagement during an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
and was married to his fiancée of five months, musician Blair Tindall, on February 3, 2006.
The ceremony was performed by Rick Warren at The Entertainment Gathering at the Skirball
Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Yo-Yo Ma provided the music. Nye left the relationship seven
weeks later when the marriage license was declared invalid.
Nye is self-proclaimed avid swing dancer. He has been spotted at local dances in the
Los Angeles area, as well as at nationwide events such as Stompology (Rochester, NY).
Awards and honors In May 2008, Nye was awarded an honorary doctorate
by Johns Hopkins University. In May 2011, he received an Honorary Doctor of Science
degree from Willamette University, where he was the keynote speaker for that year's commencement
exercises. In addition, Bill Nye also received an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degree from
Lehigh University on May 20, 2013 at the commencement ceremony. Nye received the 2010 Humanist of
the Year Award from the American Humanist Association.