Bill Nye - Life Outside Television

Life Outside Television

In the early 2000s, Nye assisted in the development of a small sundial that was included in the Mars Exploration Rover missions. Known as MarsDial, it included small colored panels to provide a basis for color calibration in addition to helping keep track of time. From 2005 to 2010 Nye was the vice president of The Planetary Society, an organization that advocates space science research and the exploration of other planets, particularly Mars. He became the organization's second Executive Director in September 2010 when Louis Friedman stepped down.

In November 2010, Nye became the face of a new permanent exhibition at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. Bill Nye’s Climate Lab features Nye as commander of the Clean Energy Space Station, and invites visitors on an urgent mission to thwart climate change. Beginning with a view of Planet Earth from space, visitors explore air, water, and land galleries to discover how climate change affects Earth’s connected systems, and how to use the Sun, wind, land, and water to generate clean energy. In an interview about the exhibit, Nye said, “Everything in the exhibit is geared to showing you that the size of the problem of climate change is big. Showing you a lot about energy use ... It’s a huge opportunity ... We need young people, entrepreneurs, young inventors, young innovators to change the world.”

He holds several United States patents, including one for ballet pointe shoes and another for an educational magnifying glass created by filling a clear plastic bag with water. From 2001 to 2006 Nye served as Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor at Cornell University. Nye supported the 2006 reclassification of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union.

Nye made an appearance in Palmdale's 2010 video "Here Comes the Summer"; the band's lead singer Kay Hanley is his neighbor.

Nye is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a U.S. non-profit scientific and educational organization whose aim is to promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.

Interviewed by John Rael for the Independent Investigation Group IIG, Nye stated that his "concern right now... scientific illiteracy... you don't have enough rudimentary knowledge of the universe to evaluate claims."

In July 2012, Nye endorsed President Barack Obama's reelection bid.

In November 2012, Nye launched a Kickstarter project for an educational Aerodynamics game, AERO 3D. This game, if fully funded, will be available for iPads in Spring 2013