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Engineered Laughter
ASEE Prism, Sep 2007 by Grose, Thomas
CAREERS
Who says nerds can't be funny? Don McMillan is a confessed nerd and former engineer who is also a professional comedian. A 1982 Stanford University grad, he worked for 10 years as an electrical engineer for companies like IBM and AT&T Bell Labs before realizing his true calling at a Bay Area comedy club's openmike night. Initially, McMillan built his act around the fact that he is 6-foot-5, has red hair and freckles, and is, well, nerdy. But his "Technically Funny" routines now fully embrace his engineering pedigree: He never works without PowerPoint, for instance.
McMillan still does comedy clubs and some TV ("The Tonight Show.'a Budweiser ad), but mostly he does corporate events- about 70 a year.They're hard work, he says, because he researches each company beforehand and tailors his act accordingly. He also likes to make fun of techie jargon ("MP3 is 3 o'clock in the afternoon to a dyslexic"). McMillan hopes to develop a TV sitcom based on an engineer, which would be a first. He notes that the only time engineers appear on TV now they're the "nerdy sidekick." Nevertheless, McMillan still embraces his core nerdiness: He plays with electronics to relax and admits to keeping a copy of Scientific American beneath his bed. TG
Copyright AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION Sep 2007
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
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