Ohio State grad goes viral

Inaki de Guzman
Tue, 10 Nov 2015 06:15:23 +0000
Alumni, Campus, Nick Uhas, Nickapedia, ohio state, OSU alumni

The nickipedia thumbnail from Nick Uhas youtube page. Credit: Courtesy of Nick Uhas

Nick Uhas graduated from Ohio State in 2009 with a degree in biology with plans to become a physician, but he decided to take his life in a different direction. Uhas was going to be an actor.

Uhas now runs his own? YouTube channel, where he shares science information with his 23,780 subscribers.

But his break came in 2013 when he made the cut for the reality TV show “Big Brother 15,” which helped him jumpstart his career as a science entertainer on YouTube.

“I love science. I was a pre-med major. I loved doing everything science, but never in the course of time did I have a place to share that knowledge,” Uhas said. “So finally, I had this golden opportunity to apply all this science knowledge. I created this show called ‘Nickipedia,’ which is essentially all of this awesome science knowledge that I learned at Ohio State, with that grind I had for pre-med.”

Uhas described Nickapedia as a “super awesome nerdy stuff and science” show and an educational YouTube channel that specializes in “infotainment,” a style of learning where the creators of the show convey educational ideas in an entertaining way.

He said his videos tackle topics that viewers wouldn’t normally think about, like how many Doritos it would take to cook a steak, how to create the world’s largest reverse icicle or whether Bugs Bunny is a rabbit or a hare.

“We try to incorporate the magic of production — really fun and interesting production aspects — and mash it up with YouTube culture and essentially make a science channel,” he said.

Nick Uhas and friends while filming in Hawaii. Credit: Courtesy of Nick Uhas

Six months after launching his channel, Uhas said networks saw his work. He received exposure and new opportunities to be on television. The Weather Channel picked him up to work on a show called “Brainstorm”.

And Uhas has gone international, too. Australia’s “Today Show” invited him on air to create a science experiment in August.

Christopher Callam, a professor of organic chemistry, said he remembers Uhas the student.

“Nick was great in the laboratory setting because he was able to problem-solve on the spot. He loved to think about complex problems and come up with different ideas to solve them,” Callam said. “We still stay in touch as I have answered a few chemical questions for him as he prepares his different forms of media.”

Uhas said that despite his recent success, he wants to get more out of his YouTube career, and he will not rest until he reaches his goal of 100,000 subscribers. He said that he can only reach that goal if he stays true to himself.

“The YouTube market tends to be filling up,” Uhas said. “There’s no room for another Tyler Oakley or another Shane Dawson, but every person has a personality that brings something new to the table. If you’re doing something that’s truly unique — as in not imitating someone else — I think there is room in YouTube to grow that audience.”