Fame is nigh for Andrew

GEELONG science student

guest appearance in a US-made Netflix series was released on the streaming service yesterday.

The third-year PhD student (right) from Deakin University’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences based in Waurn Ponds, features in a new episode of the science series Bill Nye Saves the World.

Producers initially found the Torquay resident through his Twitter account, when he posted with the then trending #BillMeetScienceTwitter hashtag.

“Thousands of scientists around the world were tweeting at him, saying this is my amazing research and I was relatively new to Twitter at the time and thought I can do this too,” he said.

“About a month later, I received a mysterious email from a producer ... I thought I was being scammed.

“I eventually rang and they explained they were producing the third season of Bill Nye Saves the World and would like me to appear to talk about my research.”

Mr Katsis flew to Los Angeles for filming in July to discuss his PhD research topic, prenatal communication in the Australian songbird zebra finches, for the show in front of a live audience of 200.

“It was amazing. I was driven by chauffeur to the Sony Studios and went through hair and make-up. It was all exciting,” he said.

“It’s great because the show reaches a more general audience of everyday people intrigued by science ... it’s a great platform.”