Mayim Bialik, star of the CBS hit show The Big Bang Theory, will deliver the fifth annual Mossman Lecture at 6:30 p.m. March 4 at Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building.
The event is free and open to the public.
Bialik’s successful artistic career took off in the late 1980s when she played the 11-year-old version of Bette Midler’s C. C. Bloom in the movie Beaches. She then starred in the NBC sitcom Blossom, where she played Blossom Ruby Russo, a teenager living with her single father and two brothers.
As she grew, she combined her passion for the arts with a deep interest in science. In 2007, she received a PhD in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her doctoral dissertation examined the role of oxytocin and vasopressin in obsessive-compulsive disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by a partial deletion in chromosome 15.
She had a chance to combine both careers when she was offered the role of neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler in the CBS hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, now in its 12th and final season. The character has become a public favorite since first appearing in the show’s third season.
Bialik told New York Magazine in 2017, “So as far as my own passion, it’s nice to play a scientist on TV and that, I suppose, makes me a role model. But I also think it’s wonderful to be able to use that platform to be able to influence—hopefully positively—young girls and to show that science is cool.”
Her performance in The Big Bang Theory has earned her two Critics’ Choice Awards and four Emmy nominations.
Bialik is also a renowned author. Two of her books, Girling Up: How to Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular, and Boying Up: How to Be Brave, Bold and Brilliant have reached number one in the New York Times best-seller list. She is co-author of the parenting book Beyond the Sling and of Mayim’s Vegan Table, a cookbook that features plant-based recipes.
Currently, Bialik writes for Grok Nation, a website she founded in 2015 to discuss parenting, cultural issues, and scientific topics. She also produces content for her own YouTube channel.
The Mossman Distinguished Lecture Series is possible thanks to an estate gift made to UT by the late Ken and Blaire Mossman, who met in Knoxville in 1968 while pursuing their degrees at UT. In 2018 the university dedicated the Ken and Blaire Mossman Building to honor their commitment. The brand-new building is a six-floor facility designed for collaborative research and features the latest in teaching technology.
Free parking will be available until 9 p.m. in the G-10 Garage, adjacent to Neyland Stadium.
MOSSMAN DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES
An Evening with Mayim Bialik
Monday, March 4, 6:30 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Building, Cox Auditorium
—
CONTACT:
Andrea Schneibel (andrea.schneibel@utk.edu, 865-974-3993)