Bill Nye to speak this Thursday in Steele Hall
Note: As of noon today (9/18) - all tickets have been distributed for today's Convocation lecture by Bill Nye. For those holding tickets, doors to the fieldhouse will open at 2:30 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. lecture.
As part of the semester-long celebration of the opening of its new Science Center, Fredonia will welcome world-renowned scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor Bill Nye “The Science Guy” on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 3:30 p.m. in the Steele Hall Fieldhouse as the keynote speaker for the campus’ annual Convocation Series. Doors to the venue will open at 2:30 p.m. the day of the event.
[Due to high demand, Dr. Nye's appearance has been moved from King Concert Hall to the fieldhouse. Additional tickets, which are free but required for entry, will be available at the Fredonia Ticket Office at Williams Center Room 140 beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4. They may also be obtained by calling 716-673-3501 (a $3 convenience fee will apply). Tickets will not be available online for the event. The maximum number of tickets per person is 1 per student with valid ID, and 2 for all others. Tickets will be available to be picked up in advance at the ticket office. Any remaining tickets will be available at the Steele Hall Natatorium Ticket Counter beginning one hour prior to the presentation. All previously issued tickets for the Bill Nye event scheduled for King Concert Hall will be honored at the door in Steele Hall. There is no need to obtain new tickets for the event.]
The 2014-15 series theme, “The Joy of Discovery,” will highlight the many instances across Fredonia’s academic disciplines and throughout people’s lives where discovery plays a critical role. Discovery can occur at a personal, societal or even global level, representing creativity that results in the finding or learning of something for the first time.
Bill Nye’s stated mission is to foster a scientifically literate society — to help people understand and appreciate the science that makes the world work. Making science entertaining and accessible is something he has been doing most of his life. He grew up in Washington, D.C., but moved to Seattle, Wash., to work for Boeing after earning a Mechanical Engineering degree from Cornell University.
It was in Seattle that Bill began to combine his love of science with his flair for comedy, when he won a Steve Martin lookalike contest and developed dual careers as an engineer by day and a stand-up comic by night.
Eventually, Bill quit his engineering job and made the transition to a night job as a comedy writer and performer on Seattle’s home-grown ensemble comedy show, “Almost Live.” That is when “Bill Nye the Science Guy®” was born. The show appeared before Saturday Night Live and later on Comedy Central, originating at KING-TV, Seattle’s NBC affiliate. While working on the Science Guy show, Nye won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. In between creating the shows, he wrote five kids’ books about science, including his latest title, Bill Nye’s “Great Big Book of Tiny Germs.”
Nye is currently the host of three TV series: “The 100 Greatest Discoveries” airing on the Science Channel; “Eyes of the Nye” airing on PBS; and his most current project, “Stuff Happens,” which airs on Planet Green and focuses on environmentally responsible consumer choices. “Stuff Happens” also features a good-natured rivalry with his neighbor, actor Ed Begley Jr. They compete to see who can save the most energy and produce the smallest carbon footprint. Bill has 4,000 watts of solar power and a solar-boosted hot water system. There’s also a low-water use garden and underground watering system. It’s fun for him; he’s an engineer with an energy conservation hobby.
Nye is also currently the executive director of The Planetary Society, the world’s largest space interest organization.
In addition to his Cornell degree, he also holds Honorary Doctoral degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University. Nye visits Cornell regularly as a professor, part of Cornell’s Frank H.T. Rhodes Visiting Professorship. In part as a tribute to his parents and their strong belief in the value of education, he designed and funded a clock which was installed on Cornell’s Rhodes Hall in 2011.
Funding for Fredonia’s annual Convocation keynote address is provided by the Maytum Lecture Endowment and the Williams Visiting Professorship Endowment through the Fredonia College Foundation. As such and in keeping with Fredonia’s Convocation tradition, Nye’s appearance is free and open to the public, although tickets are required.
