Pioneering educator Bill Nye "The Science Guy" to speak at UAlbany, March 25, 2015

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Bill Nye "The Science Guy," author of "Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation" (2014) Photo credit: Jesse Deflorio

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ALBANY, NY (03/13/2015)(readMedia)-- Bill Nye "The Science Guy," television personality and science educator, will address the University at Albany student body and the general public, and will discuss his new book, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation (2014), on Wednesday, March 25 at 5:00 p.m. in the SEFCU Arena on the University at Albany's uptown campus, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Free and open to the public, with reserved seating for UAlbany students, the event is sponsored by the UAlbany Student Association in partnership with the New York State Writers Institute.

Tickets will be made available for the general public as follows: On Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24, tickets will be available for the general public in the Campus Center West Lounge from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., with a four-ticket maximum. On Wednesday, March 25, tickets will be available to the general public in the Campus Center West Lounge from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. If any tickets are remaining, they will be distributed in the Physical Education (PE) building lobby across from SEFCU Arena beginning at 3 p.m.

Bill Nye "The Science Guy," celebrated public television personality, is a pioneer in the field of science education and a leading defender of science in the public arena. 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."

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."

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.

Free and open to the public, the event is sponsored by the University at Albany Student Association in partnership with the New York State Writers Institute.

For more information contact UAlbany Student Association at (518) 442-5640.

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