Derek Alexander Muller (born 9 November 1982
[) is an Australian-Canadian ]science communicator
Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...
, filmmaker, and television personality, who is best known for his YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel Veritasium. Muller has also appeared as a correspondent on the Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
web series
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
''Bill Nye Saves the World
''Bill Nye Saves the World'' is an American television show streaming on Netflix hosted and created by Bill Nye. It is both a sequel and a revival of sorts of Bill Nye The Science Guy, which is also created by Bill Nye. The show's byline was, ...
'' since 2017.
Early life and education
Muller was born to South African parents in Traralgon
Traralgon ( ) is a town located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the most populous city of the City of Latrobe. The urban population of Traralgon at the was 26,907. It is the largest and fastes ...
, Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and moved to Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada, when he was 18 months old.[ In 2000, Muller graduated from ]West Vancouver Secondary School
West Vancouver Secondary School (WVSS) is a five-year secondary school located in the middle of West Vancouver, British Columbia which educates grades 8 through 12. It is one of the three public high schools in West Vancouver. The school has two c ...
. In 2004, Muller graduated from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
, with a Bachelor of Applied Science
The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...
in Engineering Physics.
Muller moved to Australia to study film-making, but instead enrolled for a Ph.D. in physics education research
Physics education research (PER) is a form of discipline-based education research specifically related to the study of the teaching and learning of physics, often with the aim of improving the effectiveness of student learning. Approximately ...
from the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, which he completed in 2008 with a thesis: ''Designing Effective Multimedia for Physics Education''. He was still looking for a creative career but did not find a direct path.[
]
Career
Muller has been listed as a team member of the ABC's television program ''Catalyst
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
'' since 2008.
During his Ph.D. course, he was also teaching in a tutoring company, where he took a full-time job as science head after he completed the course in 2008. He quit the job at the end of 2010.[
In 2011 Muller created his ]YouTube channel
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...
"Veritasium" ( see section below), which became his main source of livelihood in a few years.[
Since 2011, Muller has continued to appear on ''Catalyst'', reporting scientific stories from around the globe, and on Australian television network Ten as the 'Why Guy' on the '']Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
'' program. In May 2012, he gave a TEDxSydney talk using the subject of his thesis. He presented the documentary '' Uranium – Twisting the Dragon's Tail'', which aired in July–August 2015 on several public television stations around the world and won the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism.
On 21 September 2015, Muller hosted the Google Science Fair
The Google Science Fair was a worldwide (excluding Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and any other U.S. sanctioned country) online science competition sponsored by Google, Lego, Virgin Galactic, National Geographic ...
Awards Celebration for that year.
Muller has also won the Australian Department of Innovation Nanotechnology Film Competition and the 2013 Australian Webstream Award for "Best Educational & Lifestyle Series".
Starting in April 2017, he appeared as a correspondent on the Netflix series ''Bill Nye Saves the World
''Bill Nye Saves the World'' is an American television show streaming on Netflix hosted and created by Bill Nye. It is both a sequel and a revival of sorts of Bill Nye The Science Guy, which is also created by Bill Nye. The show's byline was, ...
''.
Muller presented in film ''Vitamania: The Sense and Nonsense of Vitamins'', a documentary by Genepool Productions, released in August 2018. The film answers questions about vitamins and the use of dietary vitamin supplements.
Muller's works have been featured in ''Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...
'', ''Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'', ''Gizmodo
''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
'', and ''i09
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years ha ...
''.
Veritasium and other YouTube channels
In January 2011, Muller created the educational science channel ''Veritasium'' on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, the focus of which is "addressing counter-intuitive concepts in science, usually beginning by discussing ideas with members of the public". The videos range in style from interviews with experts, such as 2011 Physics Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt
Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU). He was previously a Distinguished Professor, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and astrophysicist at the University's Mo ...
, to science experiments, dramatisations, songs, anda hallmark of the channel interviews with the public to uncover misconceptions about science. The name ''Veritasium'' is a combination of the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word for truth, ''Veritas'', and the suffix common to many elements, ''-ium''. This creates ''Veritasium'', an "element of truth", a play on the popular phrase and a reference to chemical element
A chemical element is a species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species. Unlike chemical compounds, chemical elements cannot be broken down into simpler sub ...
s. In its logo, which has been a registered trade mark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. ...
since 2016, the number "42.0" resembles an element on the periodic table. The number was chosen as it is " The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything" in Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...
' famous novel.[
In July 2012, Muller created a second ]YouTube channel
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...
, ''2veritasium''. Muller uses the new platform to produce editorial videos that discuss such topics as film making, showcasing behind-the-scenes footage, and for viewer reactions to popular ''Veritasium'' videos.
In 2017, Muller began uploading videos on his newest channel, ''Sciencium'', which is dedicated to videos on recent and historical discoveries in science.
Reception
''Veritasium'' videos have received critical acclaim.
Two early successful ''Veritasium'' videos demonstrate the physics of a falling Slinky
The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its ow ...
toy.
At 2012 Science Online Science Online was an annual conference held in Durham, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, that focused on the role of the internet in science and science communication. It was attended primarily by ...
, the video "Mission Possible: Graphene" won the Cyberscreen Science Film Festival[ and was therefore featured on '']Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...
'' as the video of the week.[ A video debunking the common misconception that the moon is closer than it is, was picked-up by '']CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
''.[
After a video was posted in which Muller is shown driving a wind-powered car, equipped with a huge spinning propeller, faster than the wind, UCLA physics professor ]Alexander Kusenko
Alexander Kusenko is a theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, and cosmologist who is currently a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition, Kusenko holds an appointment of Senior Scienti ...
disagreed with the claim that sailing downwind faster than wind was possible within the laws of physics, and made a scientific wager A scientific wager is a wager whose outcome is settled by scientific method. They typically consist of an offer to pay a certain sum of money on the scientific proof or disproof of some currently-uncertain statement. Some wagers have specific date r ...
with Muller $10,000 that he could not demonstrate that the apparent greater speed was not due to other, incidental factors. Muller took up the bet, and the signing of a wager agreement by the parties was witnessed by Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...
and Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...
. In a subsequent video, Muller demonstrated the effect with a model cart under conditions ruling out extraneous effects. Kusenko conceded the bet.
Personal life and family
After Derek Muller's parents, Anthony and Shirley, married in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, they moved to Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, Canada, where his two sisters were born (Kirstie and Marilouise). The family moved to Australia, where he was born, after his father got a job in Traralgon
Traralgon ( ) is a town located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the most populous city of the City of Latrobe. The urban population of Traralgon at the was 26,907. It is the largest and fastes ...
at a pulp and paper mill. When he was 18 months old, the family moved back to Vancouver.
After Muller moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
he met Raquel Nuno, a planetary scientist whom he married.[ They have three children (2021).][
]
See also
*Kurzgesagt
Kurzgesagt (; German for "In a nutshell" or "in a few words") is a German-made animation and design studio founded by Philipp Dettmer. The studio's YouTube channel focuses on minimalist animated educational content, using the flat and 3D desig ...
*CGP Grey
CGP Grey is an American-Irish educational YouTuber, podcaster, and live streamer who creates short explanatory videos on subjects including politics, geography, economics, sociology, history, and culture. In addition to video production, Grey ...
*Tom Scott (presenter)
Thomas Scott is a British YouTuber and web developer. His self-titled YouTube channel offers educational videos across a range of topics including history, geography, science, technology, and linguistics. He also has four other channels: ''M ...
Footnotes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Derek
Video bloggers
Online edutainment
Living people
1982 births
Australian emigrants to Canada
People from Traralgon
People from Vancouver
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
University of Sydney alumni
Australian Internet celebrities
Education-related YouTube channels
Male YouTubers
Canadian people of South African descent
Australian people of South African descent