William Nye first realized his talent for teaching while
tutoring his schoolmates in mathematics during
high school. Always being interested in how things
worked, Nye went on to earn a degree in mechanical
engineering from Cornell University, which in turn
led him to Seattle, Washington, where he took a po-
sition as an engineer for the Boeing Company.
While Nye maintained a successful career as an
engineer, he also fostered an additional interest in
comedic performance, being particularly inspired
by the work of Steve Martin. Before long, he found
himself juggling both passions at once. Soon after
winning a Steve Martin look-alike contest, he began
moonlighting as a stand-up comedian himself and
quickly launched into the entertainment industry.
Nye eventually left engineering as a profession and
took on a position as performer and writer onAlmost
Live, a late night Seattle comedy show, where he
would earn the well-known title of “Bill Nye the Sci-
ence Guy.”
In 1993, armed with his trademark bow ties, Nye
left the show to pursue a different venture, one that
would ultimately make him famous: an educational
program aimed at reaching preteen audiences that
would inspire an enthusiasm and appreciation for
the world of science and that would encourage
youths to get personally involved in kid-friendly sci-
entific experiments. Nye worked to demystify a wide
array of challenging subjects such as ecology, phys-
ics, chemistry, and biology. The show quickly be-
came a success among young audiences, as well as
stimulated interest in many adults, teachers, and col-
lege students. The show originally aired on the Pub-
lic Broadcasting Service (PBS) from 1993 to 1997,
totaling one hundred episodes in all; reruns were
later released to such channels as Noggin and the
Disney Channel.
In 1998, Nye devoted his scientific skills to the col-
laborative development of the MarsDial: a small sun-
dial designed as a camera calibration target to be
mounted on each rover for the Mars exploration
missions. Among other inventions, Nye went on to626 Nye, Bill The Nineties in America
Bill Nye, right, and Vice President Al Gore use a pitcher of water to discuss global warming with summer camp students at the National
Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., in 1999.(AP/Wide World Photos)