Mayim Bialik: “The Big Bang Theory: Making Science Cool (& Funny)”

Penn State Harrisburg's Diversity and Educational Equity Committee (DEEC) will be hosting Mayim Bialik virtually during an event titled "The Big Bang Theory: Making Science Cool (& Funny)” as part of the DEEC's Women in STEAM Symposium.

An acclaimed actress who became a neuroscientist is now an actress who on TV plays a neuroscientist. If you follow this logic, then you are probably a fan of one of the most popular comedies on television, The Big Bang Theory. Playing the role of “Amy Farrah Fowler,” Mayim Bialik uses her Ph.D. as the foundation for her unforgettable character. In her presentations, she shares her keen scientific mind and her wonderful sense of humor as she explores the work of the brain, of behavioral development, of her life as an actress and scientist, and of the special relationship that exists between The Big Bang Theory and its audience.

Join us at 5 p.m. via YouTube LIVE to hear a Q&A from Bialik related to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education, advocating for women in STEM/STEAM career fields, and how her love of the sciences intertwined with her talents in the performing arts.

For those not able to find the YouTube link in your registration confirmation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6CLKTBdFE

For more information, please email deechbg@psu.edu to be connected to the appropriate personnel.

Biography:

Mayim Bialik currently stars on the hit CBS comedy, The Big Bang Theory as Amy Farrah Fowler, for which she has received two Critics Choice Awards, four Emmy Award nominations and a SAG Award nomination. From playing the young version of Bette Midler’s character in Beaches to her turn as Blossom Russo in the iconic 90’s sitcom Blossom, Bialik has appeared in numerous beloved roles throughout her dynamic acting career.

An acclaimed author, Bialik has written two #1 New York Times best sellers, Girling Up: How to Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular, and the recently released Boying Up: How to Be Brave, Bold and Brilliant. She has also written a parenting book, Beyond the Sling, and a cookbook, Mayim’s Vegan Table. Bialik has recently dedicated her skills as a writer, actress, neuroscientist and mother to driving the lifestyle website GrokNation.com, which she started in 2015.

Following the end of Blossom, Bialik left acting for twelve years to earn a B.S. in Neuroscience from UCLA in 2000 with a minor in Hebrew & Jewish Studies. She went on to complete her Ph.D. in Neuroscience, also at UCLA, and then completed her doctorate in the fall of 2007, which examined the role of oxytocin and vasopressin in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. While at UCLA, Bialik was a dedicated student leader in UCLA Hillel, including conducting and writing music for UCLA’s Jewish acapella group.

Bialik lives in Los Angeles with her tween and teenage sons and four adorable cats.