Pioneering Educator Bill Nye, 'The Science Guy' Headlines UAlbany World Within Reach Speaker Series, March 25

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 12, 2015) -- The University at Albany Student Association will host Bill Nye, popularly known as "Bill Nye the Science Guy," on March 25 at 5 p.m. in the SEFCU Arena. All tickets to the event, which is free, have now been distributed. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Bill Nye, popularly known as "Bill Nye the Science Guy," will appear on March 25 at 5 p.m. in the SEFCU Arena.

Free copies of Nye's new book Undeniable will be issued to the first 1,000 UAlbany students who walk through the doors. In addition, a limited number of books will be available for the public-at-large upon arrival at SEFCU Arena.

Nye's lecture is the latest installment of the annual student-run World Within Reach Speaker Series. Past speakers include Barbara Walters (Fall 2010), President William Jefferson Clinton (Spring 2011), Earvin 'Magic' Johnson (Fall 2011), and most recently Common (Spring 2015).

Francis Agyemang, president of the University at Albany Student Association said, "We are honored to host Bill Nye at UAlbany. His PBS TV show deserves a lot of credit for getting my generation of college students excited about science."

Marc Cohen, SA Vice President said, "More than anyone else in public life, Bill Nye makes scientific concepts fun, clear and compelling. We grew up watching him, and we look forward to meeting him in person."

About Bill Nye

Nye’s Bill Nye the Science Guy television series first aired on Seattle’s public television station, KCTS, and ran on PBS stations nationwide from 1993 to 1998. Exactly 100 episodes addressed topics as diverse as garbage and music, comets and caves, and chemistry and communication. The show received 18 Emmy Awards, with Nye himself taking seven for his various roles as writer, performer and producer. In the years that followed, Nye continued to create and host a number of award-winning science programs for television, including 100 Greatest Discoveries for The Science Channel, Greatest Inventions with Bill Nye for the Discovery Channel, and The Eyes of Nye for PBS. The original show continues to be a hit in syndication to PBS stations, and is widely used by educators in classrooms throughout the world.

Nye is the author of the new book, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation (November, 2014), edited by Corey S. Powell. A wide-ranging presentation of the evidence that supports the theory of evolution, the new book grew out of a much-publicized debate between Nye and leading Creationist Ken Ham at the Creation Museum in Petersburg Kentucky in February 2014. Narrated with Nye’s trademark clarity, simplicity, enthusiasm and sense of fun, Undeniable demonstrates how organisms evolved and continue to evolve, with examples drawn from agriculture, dog breeding, human courtship, and the fossil record. Nye says in his introductory chapter, "Evolution is one of the most powerful and important ideas ever developed in the history of science. Every question it raises leads to new answers, new discoveries, and new smarter questions. The science of evolution is as expansive as nature itself. It is also the most meaningful creation story that humans have ever found."

In a review for Scientific American, Joanne Manaster said, "With infectious enthusiasm, Bill Nye shows that evolution is much more than a rebuttal to creationism; it is an essential way to understand how nature works— and to change the world." Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of COSMOS on PBS, said, "With his charming, breezy, narrative style, Bill empowers the reader to see the natural world as it is, not as some would wish it to be. He does it right. And, as I expected, he does it best."

Nye graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to breaking into television, he worked at Boeing, the Seattle-based aircraft manufacturer, where he invented a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor still in use on 747 jumbo jets. He also got his start in media at Boeing, scripting and starring in training films.

The event is sponsored by the University at Albany Student Association in partnership with the New York State Writers Institute.

Contact the Student Association at (518) 442-5640 for more information.

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