News Release

‘Mythbuster’ Grant Imahara comes to campus Saturday, Feb. 2

January 15, 2008

Grant Imahara says he does more than play a geek on TV. "I am a geek on TV," he adds.

The host of "Mythbusters" on the Discovery Channel, Imahara brings his presentation from one of television’s hottest shows to Penn State Harrisburg Saturday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.

Imahara’s "Inside the Scientist’s Studio" program is free and open to the public in the Capital Union Building on Campus. For information, phone 717-948-6701.

As a "mythbuster", Imahara and his co-hosts put urban legends to test, answering such questions as: Is it possible to get stuck on an airplane toilet? Can six cans of Pop Rocks and six cans of soda make your stomach explode? Can talking on a cell phone while pumping gas really spark an explosion? In his presentation, he shares a behind-the-scenes look at how myths are chosen for testing, some mishaps in mythbusting, and insight into the development of the show.

A native of Los Angeles, Imahara earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. Before becoming a Mythbuster, he was an animatronics engineer and model maker for George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic in California. He specialized in electronics and radio control at the ILM Model shop and has credits on numerous movies including "Jurassic Park: The Lost world," and "Star Wars" episodes I and II. One of only three official R2-D2 operators in the U.S., he installed electronics in the units for both episodes.

Imahara also developed a custom circuit to cycle the Energizer bunny’s arm beats and ears at a constant rate and performed all electronics installation and radio programming on the current generation of Bunnies. He later became the Bunny’s driver and the crew supervisor on numerous commercials in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Mexico, and New Zealand.