The Truth About Mayim Bialik's Education

Mayim Bialik told Neil deGrasse Tyson in National Geographic that her background in the sciences helped her play Amy but has also informed her career after the show. She still works in TV but also has a YouTube channel and is a big advocate for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

"It's really neat that I get to play a neuroscientist on TV, but I think every student is inspired by something different. That's why it's important for us as teachers — and people in the position to mentor — to be able to provide girls with as many realistic science situations as possible," she told Forbes. "To show them that not everyone starts as a scientist but you can still be interested in it later in life."

While Bialik's scientific background came in handy while she was learning her lines, she told The Guardian that she was far from the only qualified person on set. "We actually have a physics consultant, Dr. David Saltzberg. He is from UCLA and he's the one who is in charge of all that. It is very important for our show and for our producers that we do that," she said. "A lot of our writers have science backgrounds and everything is Google-able so a lot of their stuff comes from the internet too. All of our writers are really bright."