Bill Nye, perhaps best known as 'The Science Guy' and host of television programs on PBS, the Science Channel and Planet Green, will deliver the address at Lehigh's 145th commencement ceremony on May 20.

Nye, the executive director of The Planetary Society, which is the world's largest "space interest organization," replaces astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was originally scheduled to speak, and will receive an honorary doctorate from the university.

Lehigh President Alice Gast made the announcement in an official university press release on Friday, in which she explained Nye's achievements as a scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor.

"We are delighted that Bill Nye will deliver the commencement address this year," Gast said. "'Bill Nye the Science Guy' introduced a generation of students to the wonders of science, making it accessible, interesting and stimulating. Lehigh students know and admire him, and I am sure he will be an inspiring and memorable speaker."

Nye is best recognized by his fans through his quirky lab coat and bowtie outfit that he donned in the widely viewed television program, "Bill Nye the Science Guy." The show, which won 18 Emmy Awards in five years, encouraged viewers to explore complex topics of science by explaining them in a more accessible and comical manner.

Nye received an undergraduate degree at Cornell University, and subsequently pursued work at the University of Washington, which permitted him to network with two scientists from both institutions for his current space exploration venture, The EarthDial Project. He has been traveling the globe to promote this project, which "involves a set of sundials around the world that are visually reminiscent of the MarsDials sundials residing on Mars that Nye played an instrumental role in creating," according to Lehigh's press release.

His other accomplishments include writing several children's science books and, most recently, hosting the environmentally conscious show, "Stuff Happens" on Planet Green. Some of Nye's inventions include a magnifier made out of water and an abacus that can do math as proficiently as a computer. Currently, he is in the process of developing and patenting two products—a device to help people learn to throw a baseball more accurately and a ballet shoe that will improve utility for ballerinas.

The Lehigh community is looking forward to welcoming Bill Nye at the 2013 commencement and anticipates an informative and exciting address.

Story by Brown and White news writer Danielle DiStefano, '16.