Bill Nye '77 'The Science Guy' is back; speaks at Ithaca's Sciencenter April 1

By Franklin Crawford

This one's for the kids. Bill Nye "The Science Guy" will visit Cornell in his role as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor and give a free public show for children at the Ithaca Sciencenter Tuesday, April 1.

Nye

Cornell alumnus and television personality Nye will give a public talk, "Where There's Just a Little Air," April 1, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Sciencenter, 601 First St. in Ithaca. The talk, intended for elementary- and middle-school audiences, will be about the work of the late Cornell astronomer and professor Carl Sagan and the atmosphere on Mars. The lecture will be accompanied by demonstrations from Nye's book, The Truth About Dinosaurs. The event is free, but tickets are required and limited. One hundred tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis (limit of two per person) at the Sciencenter. Those without tickets can view the April 1 presentation by closed circuit television in the lobby of the Sciencenter.

This is Nye's third visit to Cornell in his role as a Rhodes professor-at-large, and he will be on campus March 30-April 5. A 1977 graduate of Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, he will participate in the Cornell Society of Engineers Conference, giving one of the introductory presentations, Friday, April 4. Also while on campus, he will participate in undergraduate classes in communication, earth and atmospheric sciences, mechanical and aerospace engineering, astronomy and physics. Additionally, he will meet with students from the Society of Physics and with students from the Cornell Teacher Education program. Nye also will meet with staff from the National Digital Library Project to follow up on their ongoing collaboration.

Nye is a spokesperson, consultant and on-air host for Noggin Television (MTV Networks). His latest book, released in December 2002, is Bill Nye the Science Guy's Great Big Dinosaur Dig. Nye is best known for his weekly, half-hour, Emmy Award-winning show, "Bill Nye, The Science Guy," which aired on public television from 1992 to 1998.

Rhodes Class of '56 professorships are awarded for a period of one to five years, and appointees are considered full members of the Cornell faculty. The Rhodes professorship program is overseen by the Cornell Program for Professors-at-Large. For more information about Nye's visit, contact Gerri Jones, administrator for the professorship programs, at 255-0832 or by e-mail at gaj1@cornell.edu.