{"id":12915,"date":"2016-02-10t23:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-02-10t23:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/reflections-on-bill-nyes-visit-to-american-university\/"},"modified":"2016-02-10t23:00:04","modified_gmt":"2016-02-10t23:00:04","slug":"reflections-on-bill-nyes-visit-to-american-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/reflections-on-bill-nyes-visit-to-american-university\/","title":{"rendered":"reflections on bill nye’s visit to american university"},"content":{"rendered":"
by kara schiaparelli<\/strong><\/em> bill nye the science guy visited american university on tuesday night, offering inspiration and motivating students to act.<\/p>\n the kennedy political union<\/a> (kpu) planned the event and it was one of their biggest events ever. tickets sold out in minutes, students started lining up hours before doors opened and bender arena was packed with excited students.<\/p>\n the second nye stepped onto the stage after kpu president valeria ojeda-avita\u2019s introduction, the audience went wild. students chanted \u201cbill, bill, bill, bill\u201d as he waved to the crowd. for the next hour and a half nye discussed his family\u2019s history, his own work in science and how we, as college students, can “change the world.”<\/p>\n nye started off talking about his parents, both of whom were scientists, and how they inspired him.<\/p>\n nye’s father, ned, fascinated by sundials, created the \u201csand-dial,\u201d a device that you can take to the beach so you don\u2019t get sand in your watch. <\/p>\n “my dad proposed the national monument be turned into a sundial. … in the summer we’d have to move the white house,” nye said. <\/p>\n his mother, jacqueline jenkins-nye, worked on the enigma code, the story of which was dramatized in the 2014 film “the imitation game<\/a>.” she couldn\u2019t talk about what she did in the war for 50 years \u2014 until all the files were declassified.<\/p>\n nye also discussed climate change and how carbon emissions effect the growing population on earth. in his lifetime, the world\u2019s population has more than doubled, from 3 billion to 7.3 billion. he is currently working with the solutions project<\/a> to figure out a way to create clean energy in each state<\/a>.<\/p>\n “you could, when faced with the problem of climate change, run in circles screaming, but that has proven ineffective,” nye said. instead, he wants us to be “the next great generation,” and he would like everyone to be \u201cscientifically literate, not a scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n having grown up watching “bill nye the science guy,” it was amazing to see him a few meters away from where i was sitting. he has done so much more than make a television show inspiring children to take an interest in science, and now he is trying to inspire those same kids \u2014 now all grown up \u2014 to make the world a better place. if you follow the #kpunye thread<\/a> on twitter, you will see how inspired au students were from his talk and how much bill nye has affected their lives. <\/p>\n the answer to the last audience question sums up bill nye\u2019s talk at au: \u201cwhat am i most passionate about? none of your business … science!”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n\u200bplanet forward intern\/american university<\/em><\/p>\n