Nerd Nite XVII 3.10.16
1) The Impacts of Climate Change You May Not Know About
by Ta-Shana Taylor
The conversation around climate change has been dominated by melting ice caps, bleaching coral, and reducing carbon. But what about the everyday impacts of climate change? How will people’s lives change? How have people’s lives already changed? We’ll be discussing this and more.
Ta-Shana Taylor is a lecturer at University of Miami’s Department of Geological Sciences.
2) Why You Suck At Learning Languages
by Jeff Peterson
“I’m not good with languages. It’s too late for me, children learn languages better. Maybe if I had time to live in another country I could learn…” If you’ve thought any of these things then this talk is for you. Jeff Peterson will dispell all of these language learning myths and show you research on what linguists say are the ways we REALLY acquire those 2nd and 3rd languages. And of course, he’ll give you some proven methods that you can use the jump start this language learning process yourself. ¡Hasta pronto! Até logo! Bis bald! Na wé pita!
Jeff Peterson is an engineer turned traveling vagabond turned MD/PhD student at University of Miami who is addicted to learning languages to distract him from learning about diseases. He is obsessed with meta-learning and making “mastery” an inevitability. He learned to speak Spanish and Portuguese in 2.5 years and is now working on his Haitian Creole and German.
3) Natural History of the Asshole
by Steven Whitfield
Butts are great, right? But where do butts come from, and how did they evolve? Do all animals have butts, and can butts be used for more than pooping? In this lecture, biologist Dr. Steven Whitfield will provide a detailed account of the evolution, anatomy, and biodiversity of assholes.
Dr. Steven Whitfield is a conservation biologist at Zoo Miami, where he conducts field research with endangered species (figuratively, saving their butts).
For those of you who were not present, here is an update on the bosses. Boss Laura is back from having a baby (YAY!) but Boss Nathan has stepped down (BOO!).
Nerd Nite XIV 12.10.15
Nerd Nite Miami – Year in Review
Happy Hour & Holiday Bingo 6-7pm
Presentations begin 7:30pm sharp
- Bringing back your favorite speakers to share more of their nerdiness:
- Gary Bremen (ocean animal sex guy) -“Why National Parks?”
- Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty are national parks most folks have heard about, but national parks are much, much more than spectacular scenery. Gary has been to nearly half of America’s 409 national parks, and he shared some of his reasons…funny, touching and insightful…for why national parks matter.
- Alan Goldman (password guy) -“Is It Ok to Use Public WiFi – Encryption Demystified”
- You’ve always heard the old saying, don’t access your bank account over public WiFi. But why is this the case, and is there any truth to it? The short answer is yes. Alan shared lots of tips and info on how to protect yourself.
- John Gulla (board game guy) -“The Narrative Revolution WILL Be Televised: How video games are changing the way we tell stories”
- Human Beings have been telling stories since the dawn of history. Just a handful of years ago, however, something interesting and unique in the history of storytelling began to take shape: video games became a viable medium for storytelling and, perhaps even more remarkably, people began using them as a platform to tell stories differently than we have ever been able to tell them before. John shared the various ways that video games have developed over time to tell us stories, how they have explored their medium to produce fascinating and distinctive results exclusive to their platform, how we as the audience have been affected as a result, and why it all matters to both gamers and non-gamers alike.
Nerd Nite Miami, Saltwater Brewery, and The Wetlab teamed up to bring you a fun, educational night entitled “Saltwater Chemistry.”
– Tours of the saltwater labs at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School
– Presentation on the science of bring beer by Saltwater Brewery’s head brewer
– Lots of tasty beverages like Screamin’ Reels IPA, Wheat Wave, Sea Cow Stout, Raspberry Reef and special releases including Tides Pale Ale and Mayday Chocolate Cream Porter!
– All while overlooking Biscayne Bay and hanging out with the nicest people around!
Nerd Nite XIII 11.12.15
Our speakers for Nerd Nite Miami’s November nite were the 6 amazing finalists for the CappSci Inventors prize at the Frost Science Museum. The scientists/inventors were competing for a $100,000 grant to support a 12-18 month installation at Frost Science, as part of the inventors-in-residence initiative. One for the best invention to restore coral reefs, and one for the best invention to help people reduce their exposure to carcinogens.
Our nerds heard from these talented inventors and helped decide which two should win. Thanks, nerds!
The winners are:
Coral Prize: Rivah Winter & Andrew Baker, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science – Stress hardening corals
Carcinogen Prize: Prasoon Diwakar, Purdue University – Cost effective carcinogen detector
