New York, NY – The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) and the Television Academy announced today that Jeopardy! game show icon, Alex Trebek and Yahoo Tech star, David Pogue, will host the 66th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards which will take place on Thursday, January 8, 2015.
This event marks the ninth consecutive year that the Technology and Engineering Emmy® Awards have been presented during CES and the first time the two Academies have merged their Engineering Awards ceremonies. The reception and presentation will take place in the Bellagio Ballroom at the Bellagio in Las Vegas beginning at 6:30 p.m.
“I can’t think of a more entertaining and tech-savvy pair of co-hosts than Alex Trebek and David Pogue for our grand celebration of the best in technology across the television spectrum,” said Bob Mauro, President, NATAS. “With honorees such as Apple, HBO, Intel, Microsoft, MLB, Netflix, and TiVo, and lifetime honorees such as, Larry Thorpe from Canon, SMPTE and Kazuo Hirai of the Sony Corporation, this should be one of the best tech shows in all of CES!”
"We’re happy to join with the National Academy in honoring this year’s Engineering Emmy Award recipients,” said Maury McIntyre, President and COO of the Television Academy. “These innovators' achievements set the standards for capturing, presenting, and transmitting the best images and sound for television’s highest quality content. They have transformed television into a truly sensory experience.”
Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek has hosted nearly 7,000 episodes of Jeopardy! since its syndicated debut in 1984. Over the past 31 years, he has become one of television’s most enduring and iconic figures, engaging millions of viewers worldwide with his impeccable delivery of “answers and questions.”
Trebek made his American television debut in 1973 as the host of the NBC game show The Wizard of Odds. After several other hosting roles, Trebek was chosen to host Jeopardy! He was a hit with viewers and quickly became a pop culture icon. He has been honored with a coveted star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto, making him one of only a handful of entertainers honored by both the United States and Canada. In 2013, Trebek was ranked #8 in a Reader’s Digest poll of the 100 Most Trusted People in America.
In addition to his hosting duties, Trebek has a long-standing commitment with numerous charities and educational organizations. In 2013, he was awarded the Alexander Graham Bell medal from the National Geographic Society for his 25 years as host of the National Geographic Bee. Trebek has participated in 13 USO tours and was a recipient of the USO Bob Hope Award for his achievements in entertainment and commitment to America’s troops. With World Vision, Trebek has traveled to many Third World countries reporting on the group’s efforts on behalf of children around the world. He has traveled with his family to Zambia, where he adopted a village and helped build a school, homes for teachers, and a medical facility.
In 2013, Trebek was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and he was also honored as one of the “Giants of Broadcasting,”a designation awarded by the Library of American Broadcasting. Trebek and Jeopardy! received the Peabody Award in 2011 for “encouraging, celebrating and rewarding knowledge”; that same year, Trebek received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Additionally, Trebek has won five Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host.
Trebek and his wife, Jean, live in Studio City, California. They have two adult children, Emily and Matthew.
David Pogue
David Pogue is the founder of Yahoo Tech, having been groomed for the position after 13 years as the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. He’s also a monthly columnist for Scientific American and host of science shows on PBS’s NOVA. He’s been a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning since 2002.
Pogue wrote for MacWorld magazine from 1988-2000. His back-page column was called The Desktop Critic. Pogue got his start writing books when Macworld-owner IDG asked him to write Macs for Dummies. Today, with over 3 million books in print, David is one of the world’s bestselling “How-to” authors. He wrote or co-wrote seven books in the For Dummies series (including Macs, Magic, Opera and Classical Music); in 1999, he launched his own series of complete, funny, computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes 120 titles.
Starting November 2000, Pogue served as the personal-tech columnist The New York Times; his column, "State of the Art," appeared each Thursday on the front page of the Business section. He also writes "From the Desk of David Pogue," a tech-related opinion column that is sent to readers by e-mail. He also maintained a blog at NYTimes.com called Pogue's Posts.
From 2007 to 2011, Pogue appeared on CNBC’s Power Lunch in a taped, three-minute comic tech review, which then appeared on the New York Times website, nytimes.com, as well as iTunes, YouTube, TiVo, and JetBlue.
In 2007, the Discovery HD and Science channels aired his six-episode series, It’s All Geek to Me, a how-to show about consumer technology. He hosted a four-part PBS Nova miniseries about materials science called Making Stuff, followed by a two-hour special about the periodic table, Hunting the Elements.
Pogue is a frequent speaker at educational and government conferences, addressing such topics as disruptive technology, social media, digital photography, and why products fail. He has also performed three times at TED conferences.
David graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985, with distinction in Music, and he spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He’s won two Emmy Awards, two Webby awards, a Loeb award in journalism, and an honorary doctorate in music. He’s been profiled on 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.
The 66th Annual Technology & Engineering Awards is being presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in partnership with the Television Academy (Academy of Television Arts & Sciences). Honorees are chosen by the NATAS Engineering Achievement Committee, chaired by Robert Seidel, Vice President, Engineering & Advanced Technology and the Primetime Engineering Committee, chaired by Wendy Aylsworth, Senior Vice President, Technology, Warner Bros.
How to Purchase Tickets
For more press and ticket purchases, please contact:
Paul Pillitteri
Director, Communications, NATAS
212-484-9414