Bill Nye Challenges Students to Change the World

UT Dallas News Center Natural Science And Mathematics


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During UT Dallas Event, 'Science Guy' Stresses Role Students Can Play in Preserving the Planet
April 24, 2017
Bill Nye’s message to The University of Texas at Dallas crowd was straightforward: Your generation must change the world.The mechanical engineer, science educator and television show host told the 1,200-strong crowd in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building Lecture Hall that “if you like to worry about things, you are living at a great time.” But he emphasized the role that the current students’ age group — which he christened “Generation S, for Science!” — can play in ensuring the long-term well-being of the planet.Nye said the silver lining was that revolutionary changes occur quickly in modern times.Nye meets Leo Arroyo, son of UT Dallas librarian Liz Muñoz, at a book signing on campus.“My grandfather went into World War I on a horse. Twenty years later … everything had changed. War became mechanized,” Nye said. “So let’s change everything. Let’s go to all electric cars, let’s go to distributed electrical systems. Let’s use photovoltaics and the wind, geothermal, tides — we’ll do all this, transform the electric grid, and be the world leader.”Nye’s lecture, held last month, was a University-wide effort by the Eugene McDermott Library; the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science in honor of its 30th anniversary; the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; the Naveen Jindal School of Management; and the Student Union and Activities Advisory Board.Meandering between topics such as space exploration, renewable energy and the science of sundials over the course of 75 minutes, the lecture carried an urgent but hopeful tone. Nye stressed the link between gender equality and reduced rates of population growth, a key factor in the health of the environment.“Raising the standard of living of women and girls is ...

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