Bill Nye

Bill Nye Profile

Mechanical engineer and television personality Bill Nye got a generation of Americans hooked on science. A master of “edutainment”, Nye became a household name in the 1990s thanks to his fast-paced PBS children’s show Bill Nye the Science Guy, in which he translated science into fun hands-on experiments and demonstrations throughout 100 episodes.

During its five year run, Bill Nye the Science Guy received 18 Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. Nye continued to appear in his “science guy” persona on a variety of shows and venues as a means of promoting curiosity and exploration of the world around us. He has appeared as himself on Larry King Live and the Weather Channel to discuss science education, the reality of climate change, and steps we can take to mitigate it.

In a 2012 video for Big Think, Nye presented his stance that creationism should not be taught to children because it was detrimental to developing scientific literacy and the ability to innovate. The video quickly went viral, receiving millions of views, and led to a highly publicized debate between Nye and creationist Ken Ham in 2014.

Nye currently serves as CEO of the Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization that supports and promotes the continued exploration of space, a field Nye has directly contributed to through his development of the MarsDial, a sundial that was used to calibrate the Mars landers’ Pancam cameras. In 2017 Nye will debut his talk show Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix. In each episode, he and his team will examine a current issue such as climate change or vaccinations through a scientific lens.

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  Bill Nye – scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor – is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Nye’s wit and enthusiasm have helped to garner 18 Emmy awards for his PBS/syndicated series Disney Presents Bill Nye the Science Guy.

  Nye is also the host of Stuff Happens, a show examining the everyday stuff of our lives, and the far-reaching effects our actions have on the planet. He uses his trademark humor, to help viewers gain understanding on big issues, like the environment and sustainability, and presents positive, upbeat solutions to these critical problems.

  Serving as an ambassador for science education, Nye has traveled across the US and has served on children’s education, science, and TV committees and acted as an advocate for children’s safety and health.

  An accomplished author, Nye has written five books including, Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blast of Science, Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Please Consider the Following—A Way Cool Set of Science Questions, Answers and Ideas to Ponder, and his most recent book, Bill Nye the Science Guy Considers the Big Blue Ocean.

  After a debate with a creationist who believes the world is only 6,000 years old, Nye wrote his first book for a general audience, Undeniable—Evolution and the Science of Creation, featured on the New York Times’ bestsellers list. He considers it a primer on the discoveries and principles of evolution, and with his book and all his writing, Nye hopes to change the world. His next book for the general audience will explore the subjects of energy and climate change, while his next children’s book will be about space exploration.

  Nye supports the need to raise the standard of living for women and girls by educating people as effectively as possible. With Disney, Nye wrote and produced Solving for X, a series on DVD about algebra, which turns out to be the most reliable indicator of whether or not a student will pursue a career in science – girls especially.

  Nye received a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University, where he studied under Carl Sagan. He joined Boeing Commercial Airline Company in Seattle, where he worked on flight control systems until his love of entertainment led to work as a stand-up comic and his eventual creation of the persona of the Science Guy.

  Bye currently speaks regularly at colleges, appearing often on news and television about a variety of topical science matters, and remains the CEO of the Planetary Society. He fights to raise awareness of climate change and the value of critical thinking, science, and reason. Through all his work, Bye hopes to inspire people everywhere to change the world.