Jamie Hyneman
Born	James Franklin Hyneman (1956-09-25) September 25, 1956 (age 55) Marshall, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Indiana University
Occupation	MythBusters co-host, M5 Industries CEO
Years active	1986-present
Religion	None (Atheist)
Spouse	Eileen Walsh (1989-present)
Website
www.m5industries.com

James Franklin "Jamie" Hyneman (born September 25, 1956)^[1] is an American special effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters. He is also the owner of M5 Industries, the special effects workshop where MythBusters is filmed. He is known among Robot Wars devotees for his robot entry, Blendo, which, for a time, was deemed too dangerous for entry in the competition. He is one of the designers of the aerial robotic camera system Wavecam, used in sports and entertainment events.^[2] On May 16, 2010, he delivered the commencement address and received an honorary Doctorate of Engineering, from Villanova University.^[3]

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Hyneman was born in Marshall, Michigan and raised in Columbus, Indiana. Describing his early life, Hyneman said "I was a problematic kid, to be sure. I left home when I was 14 and hitchhiked all over the country."^[4]

He earned a degree in Russian linguistics from Indiana University.^[5] He also received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Villanova University.^[6][7] On November 25, 2011, Hyneman was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente (Enschede, Netherlands) for his role in the popularization of science and technology.^[8]

A variety of careers fill his resume, including scuba diver, wilderness survival expert, boat captain, linguist, pet shop owner, animal wrangler, machinist, concrete inspector, and chef. He apparently has a mild case of acrophobia (fear of heights), as mentioned in the "Hammer Drop" episode segment of Mythbusters.

Personal life[link]

He has been married to Eileen Walsh, a science teacher at Encinal High School, since 1989.^[9] They met while he owned a sailboat diving charter business in the Virgin Islands.^[10] Hyneman identifies strongly with skeptics and atheists.^[11]

[edit] MythBusters

Hyneman and a Blue Angels team member at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma prepare for the Sonic Boom Sound-off episode in 2009.

A distinctive part of his appearance is his dark beret, white long-sleeve button up shirt over a black t-shirt, no-rim glasses, and, occasionally, sunglasses. This, along with his walrus-style moustache and deep voice, are constant subjects for jokes by co-host Adam Savage and other team members. A sign hanging in his workshop reading "Clean Up or Die", visible in several episodes, expresses his desire to keep the shop clean and tidy.

Hyneman's demeanor on MythBusters is calm, logical and no-nonsense, in stark contrast to Savage's more animated, impulsive and energetic persona.^[12] Hyneman is often exasperated by Savage's antics and he sometimes argues with him about the best approach to take. The two often have very different ideas for performing experiments and building devices. Hyneman's ideas tend to be more simplified than his co-host's, and he has a philosophy of reducing a solution to its most basic form, wherever possible. This difference has led to numerous competitions between the two presenters when testing myths, such as testing the Goldfish Memory myth and Hoverboard myth.

His notable achievements in commercials include the can-spitting vending machine seen in 7 Up commercials, and his patented two-wheeled football shoe from Nike Lab commercials.^[13]

Hyneman has been dr.h.c. Jamie Hyneman since November 25, 2011 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Twente on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. He was awarded his honorary doctorate together with Adam Savage for their work in popularizing science.^[14] In the "AC on vs. Windows Down" myth, Hyneman revealed a food that he invented (and commonly eats) known as "the 444," a smoothie-like concoction of 4 fruit, 4 vegetable, and 4 grain servings. Despite skepticism by the rest of the crew, Hyneman described the 444's taste as "quite pleasant."

Other appearances[link]

The two army-junk sellers in The Darwin Awards are portrayed by Savage and Hyneman. They appear during the story of the rocket-car, which they effectively reproduced in the series' pilot episode.^[15]

He attended the annual skeptics' conference called The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2006.^[16]

Hyneman made a cameo appearance along with Savage on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on the May 1, 2008 episode "The Theory of Everything",^[17] where they play inspectors each giving thumbs-up after seeing a shirt soaked in pepper spray catch fire when shot by a taser. They would go on to test this myth and prove it confirmed with certain types of pepper spray.

He and MythBusters co-host Savage will appear as judges on the game show Unchained Reaction premiered in March 2012.^[18]

Hyneman and Savage have also voiced characters on The Simpsons episode "The Daughter Also Rises" as a parody of themselves, the "MythCrackers", which prompts Bart and Milhouse to experiment in a similar fashion.

Hyneman is currently an editor and contributor at Tested.com alongside fellow Mythbuster Adam Savage and longtime technology reviewers Will Smith, and Norman Chan.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jamie Hyneman's M5 Industries
• Jamie Hyneman's Patent for Remote control device with gyroscopic stabilization and directional control
• Jamie Hyneman at the Internet Movie Database
• Wavecam aerial robotic camera
• Jamie Hyneman biography from the Discovery Channel

Adam Savage
Savage in July 2011
Born	Adam Whitney Savage[1] (1967-07-15) July 15, 1967 (age 44) New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation	MythBusters co-host, designer/fabricator, actor, educator
Height	6'0"
Religion	None (Atheist)
Spouse	Julia Savage (2002-present)
Children	Two
Website
adamsavage.com

Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967)^[2] is an American industrial design and special effects designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters.^[1] His model work has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix Reloaded. He is a prominent member of the skeptic community. He lives in San Francisco with his twin sons and wife, Julia.

Early life and education[link]

Born in New York City, Savage was raised in Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County New York.^[3] He graduated from Sleepy Hollow High School in 1985.^[4] His father, Whitney Lee Savage (1928-1998), was a painter, filmmaker and animator known for his work on Sesame Street, and has a permanent exhibit in the Avampato Discovery Museum.^[5] His mother is a psychotherapist. His sister Kate Savage is also an artist. As a teenager in Sleepy Hollow, he routinely visited the local bike shop to have flat tires fixed. The shop showed him how to do the repairs himself. From this experience, Savage said, "I realized you could take a bike apart and put it back together and it wasn't that hard...I've been building and putting bicycles together since then."^[4]

Adam Savage began acting as a child, and has had five years of acting school.^[1] His early credits include voicing animated characters that his father produced for Sesame Street, Mr. Whipple's stock boy "Jimmy" in a Charmin commercial, a helper in the special effects of Star Wars, and a drowning young man saved by a lifeguard in the 1985 Billy Joel music video "You're Only Human (Second Wind)."^[6] He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for acting for six months before dropping out.^[7]

Describing the early abandonment of his acting career, Savage said "...by the time I was, I guess probably nineteen, I had passed on that in favor of doing stuff with my hands – graphic design, assistant animation in New York, and then eventually working in theater in San Francisco, and film special effects. Then MythBusters came along and it was the perfect marriage of two things, performance and special effects."^[8] On November 25, 2011, Savage received an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente (Enschede, Netherlands) for his role in the popularization of science and technology.^[9][10]

Career[link]

Savage in July 2008

Savage has worked as an animator, graphic designer, carpenter, projectionist, film developer, television presenter, set designer, toy designer, and gallery owner. He worked as a model maker on the films Galaxy Quest, Bicentennial Man, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, The Matrix Reloaded, and Space Cowboys, among others.

Savage played the role of a helpful engineer in the 2001 film Ever Since the World Ended^[11] and the role of an army surplus store owner who sells a man a rocket engine for his pickup truck in 2006 in The Darwin Awards, which also featured MythBusters co-star Jamie Hyneman.^[12] He made a cameo appearance along with Jamie Hyneman on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on the May 1, 2008, episode "The Theory of Everything." In the "making of" material for The Matrix Revolutions, he appears in his role as a special effects artist and discusses some of the miniature effects used and the difficulties involved.

He previously taught advanced model making in the department of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.^[1]

Savage has become a regular presenter at magician James Randi's annual skeptics' conference, The Amaz!ng Meeting, since first appearing in January 2006.^[13] He also appeared in the UK, giving a talk at the first Amazing Meeting London from October 3–4, 2009, hosted at the Mermaid Conference Centre, Blackfriars.^[14]

Savage was a featured performer at the three w00tstock v1.x shows in 2009, and appeared in four w00tstock v2.x shows in 2010. He also appeared as a guest on Diggnation's 220th show.^[15]

Savage has also been a regular guest speaker at the annual Maker Faire since 2008, speaking on different topics such as his obsession with the dodo bird and problem solving, and also taking questions from the audience members about the Mythbusters and other things.

Savage hosted an episode of the Discovery Channel series Curiosity, in which he speculated as to whether or not it is possible for humans to live forever. During the program various topics such as limb regeneration, organ printers, and even age reversal are discussed.

Savage and Hyneman are judges on the game show Unchained Reaction which premiered in March 2012.^[16]

[edit] MythBusters

Savage has been involved in MythBusters since its creation. His role in the show (that he shares with all the other talent) is to either disprove ("bust") myths or confirm them through testing and experiments done at different scales. If the myth is about a one-time occurrence and not about whether or not something can happen at all, it is often deemed "plausible" instead.

Savage's demeanour on MythBusters is animated and energetic, providing a foil to Jamie Hyneman's more reserved straight man persona.^[17]

Savage and Hyneman were the only hosts of the show for the first season of MythBusters, but starting with the second season, members of Hyneman's staff were introduced and began to appear regularly in episodes; Kari Byron, Tory Belleci and welder Scottie Chapman appeared in the second season. In the third season, Chapman was replaced by Grant Imahara, a robot builder and model maker. In an interview Savage gave during The Amaz!ng Meeting 5, he expressed an interest in proving natural selection over creationism on MythBusters.

Savage also stated that such an episode is unlikely because MythBusters has a policy against trying to disprove supernatural phenomena.^[19]

Personal life[link]

At Reason Rally Washington D.C. March 23, 2012

Savage and his wife Julia were married in 2002. He has twin sons from a previous relationship.^[20] He wears a hearing aid on his left ear due to a congenital condition.^[21] He is a practiced juggler, as seen on Mythbusters. He is also an atheist.^[22] He has a lifelong interest in costume making. He said, "I remember my mom getting me a 'Jaws' costume when 'Jaws' came out...and wearing a Batman costume. Back then, everyone dressed up as hobos." He strives for authenticity with his costumes. While in high school, he and his father made a suit of armor out of aluminum roof flashing that had 700 rivets. He said, "I wore it to school and passed out from heat exhaustion in math class. I woke up in the nurse's office and the first thing I said was 'Where's my armor'?" In 2011, he built a costume based on the character No-Face from the film Spirited Away.^[4] In early 2012, it was announced that he would be the commencement speaker at Sarah Lawrence College.^[23]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adam Savage

• Adam Savage's personal website
• Adam Savage at the Internet Movie Database
• Adam Savage on Twitter
• Adam Savage's biography from the Discovery Channel
• Interview with The Sneeze
• Interview with Reddit.com
• Adam Savage interviewed on Penn Radio
• Discovery
• Savage Presentation at The Entertainment Gathering (December 2008)
• Adam Savage on Diggnation (September 2009)
• Adam Savage interviewed on Geek a Week

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Grant Imahara
Imahara in 2007
Born	(1970-10-23) October 23, 1970 (age 41) Los Angeles, California, United States
Other names	Grant Masaru Imahara (今原 真申, Imahara Masaru?) (birth name)
Occupation	MythBusters (build team), Electronics and radio control expert
Website
MYTHBUSTERS Bios Imahara's Myspace Imahara's Facebook Imahara's Twitter

Grant Masaru Imahara (born October 23, 1970)^[1] is a Japanese-American electronics and radio control expert, best known for his work on the American television show MythBusters.

Education and early work[link]

Imahara is a graduate of the University of Southern California, with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. For a time, he seriously considered switching majors, with the intention of becoming a screenwriter; he decided to stay on the engineering track after assisting Tomlinson Holman,^[2] a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and creator of the Lucasfilm THX sound system.

After graduation, Imahara was hired as an engineer for Lucasfilm's Home THX division; he then moved to the visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he worked for nine years. While at ILM, he was involved in films such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Van Helsing, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Imahara is credited in many feature films as a model maker. In particular, he is credited for his work in updating the aging R2-D2 robots for the Star Wars prequel trilogy.^[3] As an official Artoo Technician, he makes a cameo appearance in the mockumentary R2-D2: Beneath the Dome.^[4]

[edit] MythBusters

Imahara joined MythBusters on the invitation of friend and occasional employer Jamie Hyneman^[5] and former ILM colleague Linda Wolkovitch, who is now an Associate Producer of MythBusters. He joined as the third member of the Build Team, replacing former MythBusters welder Scottie Chapman. His colleagues often, jokingly, refer to him as the geek of the Build Team. He often makes the robots that are needed for the show and otherwise specializes in operating the computers and electronics for the myths.

Other work[link]

In addition to his role on MythBusters, he is known for his appearances on BattleBots, where he designed and competed with his robot Deadblow. He also had a cameo appearance on the web series The Guild. Other well-known works include: designing the circuit that creates the rhythmic oscillation of the arms of the modern Energizer Bunny;^[3] leading Team ILM to victory in an appearance on Junkyard Mega-Wars; as well as authoring Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots (ISBN 0-7645-4113-7), considered to be a definitive reference in robot construction.^[3]

Imahara was a cast member, and story writer, for the short film Architects of Evil, created for the 2004 Industrial Light and Magic Backyard Film Contest.^[6] He mentors the Richmond High robotics team Biomechs #841 (Richmond Ca.) for the FIRST Robotics Competition, lending his expert guidance on how to create the right robot for the right job.^[7] Imahara was profiled in the magazine IEEE Spectrum, in an issue focusing on engineering dream jobs. The article was titled "Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box.";^[8] he is shown in a fire resistant suit on the cover.

One of Imahara's independent projects, during early 2010, was constructing a robotic sidekick for Craig Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show.^[9] The robot, named Geoff Peterson, was unveiled on the April 5, 2010 Late Late Show episode.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Grant Imahara's autobiography on MBFC
• Grant Imahara's biography from the Discovery Channel
• Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box
• Grant Imahara at the Internet Movie Database
• Grant Imahara on Myspace
• Grant Imahara on Twitter
• AArisings A-Profiler Interview Published March 17, 2007