Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' being honored in Chicago

Bill Nye, the popular, Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, who not only helped foster science education in America, but also recently showcased a very different side of his personality on “Dancing With the Stars,” will receive the 2014 Washington Award.

Nye, perhaps best known for his long-running “Bill Nye the Science Guy” show, Nye will receive the award — considered one of the most prestigious engineering awards in the country — during the Discover Engineering Awards benefit at the Palmer House Hilton on Friday, Feb. 21. Nye is being honored for helping foster “a scientifically literate society,” helping people “understand and appreciate the scene that makes our world work.”

Previous recipients of the Washington Award have included Neil Armstrong, Henry Ford, Orville Wright, Gene Cernan, Herbert Hoover, Dean Kamen, Martin Cooper and Dr. Kristina Johnson.

The author of five children’s books about science, Nye also currently hosts “The 100 Greatest Discoveries” on the Science Channel, and “The Eyes of Nye” on PBS stations across the country.