Nerd Nite Miami is a monthly event during which several folks give fun-yet-informative presentations while the audience drinks along. It’s like the Discovery Channel… with beer! The drinking is just as important as the learning.
*** Pre-order the Nerd Nite book now! ***
Some true, some made up, all ridiculous!
June 22, 2023 – 7:00pm – Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Nerd Nite Miami is back for one night only! Join us at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens for a special evening of thinking and drinking. We’ll have talks on Miami’s salacious history that will be hard to believe.
Line up:
Who is Irene? And why did she have to die?
Join Rebecca Peterson, Vizcaya’s Sr Manager for Community Programs, for a murder mystery game that sheds light into how we know some of what we know. There will be letters, photographs, and a whole lot of guessing. Fun will be had by all.
Miami’s Creation Myth
Just as the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse had their gods, villains, and heroes, Miami now has a legendary saga based on the hyperbolic surrealism that is living in South Florida. Author Andrew Otazo will introduce you to a wholly unique universe with its own, often absurd, deities and norms. Along the way, you’ll learn answers to deep existential questions, such as: Where do croquetas come from? Who is the god of chisme? And why is everyone late to everything?
Henry Flagler- All That Glitters is Not Gold
Who truly was Henry Flagler? Join Ingrid E. Argueta, HistoryMiami Museum’s Coordinator of Education Programs and Community Engagement, as she reflects upon the impact this railroad tycoon had on South Florida. Listen as she brings to light the stories and contributions of those who facilitated Flagler’s success and helped led to the success of the Magic City.
June 22, 2023
7:00pm Doors open
7:30pm Presentations Begin
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, 3251 South Miami Avenue
** Free admission. No tickets required. First come first serve seating. **
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Join us for Nerd Nite Miami’s Best of 2022 event, featuring Ron Magill!! TJ Morell! Jason Katz!
NB: This will be our last Nerd Nite Miami before a brief pause. We will post future events here, via email, and on social media. Stay in touch!
We’ll miss you all. Thank you to Gramps for hosting us and to all of you for sharing your nerdiness with us for over 8 years!
“Black Helicopters over the Everglades: Celebrating 50 Years of UNESCO’s World Heritage Program”
by Gary Bremen
You love to learn (yay!). You love to vacation (yay!). Money is tight (boo!). What’s a nerd to do?
Veteran Nerd Nite presenter Gary Bremen has a fool-proof plan to see the world’s very best sites so you can maximize learning and fun on your next vacation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention, which protects this planets most iconic and amazing places…including 24 in the US, and one you can visit this weekend. Learn how to begin a quest that will make you the envy of everyone at your next cocktail party (and everyone on your Insta feed, too!). Gary Bremen has visited 269 of this country’s 423 National Parks, and 72 of 1154 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In his forthcoming retirement, he plans to work hard at upping those numbers BIG TIME!
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“Pepper Hotness”
by Laura Chaibongsai & Rebecca Peterson
How well do you know your peppers? Join the other two nerd nite bosses as we explore a class nerd nite topic – the scoville scale.
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“Living in Miami sucks (a coral’s perspective)”
by Michael Studivan
PortMiami is a highly-dynamic environment, experiencing tidal cycles, riverine inputs, and coastal construction on a daily basis (aka, a terrible place to live if you’re a coral, and a terrible place to dive if you’re a human). In the past decade, there have been several key events impacting Miami’s coral reefs including the port dredging and the appearance of the most deadly coral disease epidemic described to date, named stony coral tissue loss disease. Yet remarkably, many corals within the port appear to be thriving, and researchers at the University of Miami and NOAA are actively conducting research to find out why. Come see why this masochist chooses to dive in dirty garbage water of PortMiami over the crystal clear Biscayne National Park, and learn about the ‘urban corals’ in Miami.
Join us in celebrating 8 years of nerding out together in Miami!!
Presentations begin at 7:30pm sharp at Gramps Bar, Wynwood
Line up:
“Cryoablation: Putting the Freeze on Breast Cancer”
Breast cancer cryoablation is an outpatient minimally invasive nonsurgical alternative to treating breast cancer using ultrafreezing temperatures to kill tumor cells using a needle inserted through a tiny 3mm skin incision in the breast. We will discuss this innovative technology with how it works, real life examples, its current status and indications, and ongoing research.
Bio: Dr. Michael J. Plaza is a breast radiologist and breast interventional oncologist. He graduated from Wake Forest University School of Medicine followed by residency training in diagnostic radiology at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is fellowship trained in breast imaging and intervention which was completed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2013. He is a pioneer in breast cryoablation and performed the first breast cancer cryoablation in South Florida in 2017. He is a private practice radiologist for Diagnostic Center for Women and Alfa Diagnostics and holds academic appointments with FIU and LECOM training medical students and resident physicians. He is a fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging and has worked on multiple national multicenter clinical trials including FROST, ECOG-ACRIN 1141, and the WISDOM study.
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“Salsa: A dance, a language, a passion”
by Ana Zangroniz
(presenting remotely)
Salsa dancing has been a major pillar in Ana’s life for more than 20 years. Join us as she takes you on an abbreviated tour of her journey as well as learn about the life lessons she has taken away from her relationship with the dance.
Ana began salsa dancing in 2001 while attending Rochester Institute of Technology. Ana travels the world to dance but her favorite places to dance and teach are NY and DC. While in DC, Ana danced and performed with the Clave Kazi training team and taught classes in with Hector Chavez’ company, Latin Dance Vibe.
To support her beloved dog, Pilon (not Bustelo) and her travel/dancing addiction, Ana serves as the Florida Sea Grant Extension Agent for the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Service in Miami-Dade County. She can also be found scuba diving in the waters of Biscayne National Park.
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“How To Sell Drugs: An inside look at the weird world of pharmaceutical naming”
by Alexa Lash
Have you ever wondered who creates those crazy drug names you see on the market? Ever try to understand why are there so many strange letter combinations? What is UP with all those X’s and Z’s? A branding expert will give you a new creative pill to swallow: how pharmaceutical brand names are created.
Alexa Lash is Senior Vice President, Creative Nomenclature and former head of the creative department at Brand Institute, a naming agency based out of Miami, Florida – a job she balances with her career as a musician. She has worked in pharmaceutical naming for over nine years, and in that time, has worked on thousands of brand naming projects, with some notable names you may have seen in commercials (but hopefully never had to take!).