Bill Wattenburg
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Willard Harvey Wattenburg (born February 9, 1936), better known as Dr. Bill Wattenburg, is an inventor, scientist, author, and radio talk show host residing in the Sierra Nevada of California. Advertisements for his show often refer to him as "the smartest man on the Earth."[citation needed]
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[edit] Early life
Born in Chico, California and raised in the forests of Plumas County, Wattenburg grew up helping his father in the logging business. His scientific talent was discovered by a teacher, who encouraged him to apply to several schools, including the University of California, Berkeley, where he completed his first year with honors. After his freshman year, he moved back to assist his father in his business, and graduated from California State University, Chico, summa cum laude in physics and electrical engineering. He then returned to Berkeley for his doctorate in electrical engineering, completing it in three years, and worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as a professor at Berkeley until 1970.[1] After that, he was a consultant to various engineering and defense-oriented businesses. He remains a consultant to the Livermore lab.[1]
[edit] Life as scientist
As an inventor, Wattenburg has eight patents to his credit.[citation needed] He invented the first home alarm system using electrical wiring as the communications medium. Many of his ideas, such as using flatbed rail cars as temporary bridges, unplugged(?) tank water heaters for storage of emergency potable water, and converting plow blades into minesweepers, are deceptively simple, variantsof prior art, and/or Folk Technology.[citation needed]
As a scientist, Wattenburg discovered many of the original problems with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, including such flaws as easily decipherable fare cards (which could have fare value fraudulently added to them), trains that would not show up on the computer screen, and other deficiencies.[citation needed] He has published numerous articles in scientific journals, and continues to do research as an adjunct professor at Chico State.
[edit] Radio talk show host
Since 1972, Wattenburg has been the host of The Open Line to the West Coast, a talk show heard late Saturday and Sunday evenings 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. on KGO AM 810.[2] On the program, Wattenburg takes calls from throughout the Western United States. Wattenburg states the program is the most listened to radio program in the Western United States in that time slot. On the show, Wattenburg answers questions about science, talks about politics, current events, and discusses some of his ideas. Some of his current recurring topics are whether premium gasoline is worthwhile, and strong support for nuclear power, and his disdain for the Sierra Club and the environmental movement, supporters of which he calls ecofreaks or ecofrauds. He has little patience for people who call in with views that contradict scientific fact, in which these views are not based on scientific facts. For years, he's ralied against the use of MTBE, an oxygenate added to gasoline that allegedly minimizes pollutants from automobiles and thereby reducing pollution. In actuality, it poisoned drinking water sources all over California and lowered the energy density of a gallon of gasoline thereby reducing the mileage of automobiles and causing more air pollution. The replacement of MTBE, ethanol, also allegedly reduces automobile mileage. MTBE is now banned. He also is a strong supporter of American-made automobiles and gets angry at those who automatically dismiss American-made cars without evaluating their performance and defer to foreign cars. Politically, Wattenburg is generally known as a conservative; however he takes the traditional liberal position on some social issues, such as abortion. He is well-known for his distinctive, low voice. He especially enjoys taking calls from children who ask him basic scientific questions of the Why is the sky blue? variety. He was a strong supporter of Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
[edit] Author
As an author, Wattenburg wrote two books for the general public. One book, Best Jokes From Talk Radio, is a compilation of risque jokes heard on talk radio. The second book, How to Find and Fascinate a Mistress, is a fictionalized version of Wattenburg's exploits with young women in the 1970s. The book, which set him up as a male antidote to the feminism of Gloria Steinem, earned Wattenburg millions of dollars in print, under his pseudonym of Will Harvey. The book is long since out of print.
[edit] Marriage and family
Wattenburg is now married to a younger woman, Carol. They have a daughter. He also has three children from a previous marriage.
[edit] Appearance on films
He has also made brief appearances in three Clint Eastwood films: The Dead Pool (Nolan Kennard), Pink Cadillac (pit boss), and True Crime (radio reporter).
