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Specialties Photography
1st annual photo
contest. Come by one of our
studios or visit us on-line
@ www.specialphoto.com
Bryan 260-9016 3514 East 29th
College Station 696-9898
2551-GS. Tx Ave.
SENIORS.
Last Chance.
Graduation portraits for the
2004 Aggieland Yearbook
will be taken today. Nov. 24,
and tomorrow. Nov. 25, in
Room 027 of the MSC. There
is no sitting fee required to
be photographed for the
yearbook. To make an
appointment, call Thornton
Studio at 1-800-883-9449.
OFFER GOOD THRU 12-31-03
NOT VALID WITH
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NOT A BOOKSTORE MENTALITY
THE T-SHIRT CAPITAL OF AGGIELAND
POST OAK MALL
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Prices Good 1 f/24/03 to 11/29/03 m case of printing m'ui; ■.lin e price prevails
Buy 2 Dozen Original
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The Battalion
Sci|Tech
Pane 4 • Tuesday, November 25,2003
The Science Guy speak
Bill Nye educates and entertains fans at Reed Aren
|P Beato • THE 8ATW
Bill Nye, The Science Guy speaks animatedly in front of a crowd of entist and comedian, gained popularity with his television series:
several hundred at Reed Arena Friday. Nye, who is an engineer, sci- Nye The Science Guy."
By Kyle Ross
THE BATTALION
Restless in their seats, hundreds of stu
dents from across Texas waited in eager
anticipation. Some had arrived an hour
early just to get the right spot to see their
hero. The crowd clapped in unison, chant
ing “We want Bill!" Eventually, the wave
broke out. And when “Bill Nye The
Science Guy” stepped up to the podium in
the middle of the floor, one would have
thought he was at a Beatles reunion con
cert. Girls shrieked, boys pumped their
fists and parents nodded their heads.
“We’re here tonight to celebrate tech
nology,” Nye said.
The words of an icon echoed off the
walls of Reed Arena Friday. Boasting his
signature bowtie and unkempt hair, this
part-comedian, part-scientist addressed
the crowd gathered for the weekend’s
Texas BEST (Boosting Engineering,
Science and Technology) competition.
The competition, in its 11th year, gives
teams of students a chance to battle each
other using robots they build themselves.
Each year, the robots are required to do
different tasks under certain time con
straints, but there is no given blueprint and
no predetermined architecture for the
robot. Each team uses its own design,
spurring the imaginations of Texas stu
dents to new heights.
Steve Marum created the Texas BEST
robot competition 1 1 years ago in his
hometown of Sherman, Texas.
“We just wanted to create excitement
among the students toward science, and
what better way to do that than by build
ing and competing with your own robot?”
Marum said. “For the first one we held,
the students were just given various junk
to work with. There were 12 teams and
about 200 students total. Now we give
them specific parts in kits we make for
them. There are now 500 teams with over
3,000 students involved. Maybe some of
these kids will invent something special
someday.”
This is the type of event that Nye says
he lives for. Nye has spent the better part
of his life trying to get young students
excited about building robots or just sci
ence in general. Determined to raise a gen
eration of TV-watching young people to
become responsible voters, Nye says the
future will have a bevy of critical deci
sions to make, ranging from cloning to
vacations on Mars. He said it is important
to ensure that students understand the
world in which they live.
“What will be discovered in your life
time?” asked Nye from within the spot
lights of Reed Arena. “Your society will
have a lot of serious questions to answer.
You will have a lot of decisions to make. It
will soon be time to find your place in the
future.”
Are we alone? If we were
able to go to Mars and find
evidence of life or evidence of
past life y it would change the
world.
— Bill Nye
scientist, engineer, entertainer
For the first time, the crowd became
quiet, taking in his words like that of a
congregation to its preacher. But perhaps
sensing the sudden seriousness, Nye per
formed his best impersonation of William
Shatner (otherwise known as Captain Kirk
of the Starship Enterprise of the TV series
“Star Trek”) sending the crowd into laugh
ter again. It is what Nye has done his
entire career: make people laugh and allow
them to learn.
Using power point slides and a side
splitting, often rambling commentary,
Nyes’ lecture covered various subjtfi
such as the history of the Mars mis*
how sundials work and tectonic pi©
But the most passionate moments oil
speech were focused on how robots i
be used in the future of scientificd®
cry. specifically on exploration of I
galaxy.
“Are we alone?” Nye said, “Ifwe
able to go to Mars and find evidenctii
life or evidence of past life, it'd
change the world. The whole planet^
have to hold a meeting and talkabouii
The way we will be able to explorefi
away places is with robots. And you®
the ones who will bring that kindoffi*
to mankind. ”
As if on cue, the crowd erupted«
applause and standing ovations. Nye«*
able to reach his people and atthes®!
time entertain them.
“1 was really pleased with the job®
Nye did tonight,” said Marum, founderf
the Texas BEST program. “He wasabH
keep the interest of the kids and tbat-
what this whole thing is about.”
Nye said he agrees with Marum.
“It’s a cool competition —a greatco®
petition,” said Nye. “It’s very import®
because our future lives in robots. W
robots are going to change the world/
the people participating in this compfr
tion are going to be a huge part of that f
quite an honor to be here.”
Hours after his speech, the line that® I
formed for Nye’s book signing'was|
starting to dwindle. Everyone wante® l ;
handshake or at least a picture taken.® ;
sort of underground society of intellect |
had come out of hiding for a nigh:T r
most said they went home satisfied.
“1 thought he did a good job. But I/
‘Bill Nye The Science Guy’scl’ni/ f
biased,” said Robert Candalino, a s» |
nuclear engineering major at A&M |
was actually pretty inspiring to hear ah’
his view of the future. I’m about top
ate and it’s good to hear the future of s'
ence is healthy.”
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