Join us at our normal night and time (2nd Thursdays, 7:30pm), at our normal bar (Gramps), but with some new awesome bosses!!
This month’s speakers and topics:
1) “Where do shark babies come from?” by Susana Ramirez
Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by sperm. In animals, such as sharks, it means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. This presentation will break down what this means, how it happens, and what it means for sharks and shark conservation.
Bio: Susana Ramirez is the Founder of Save The Sharks, a South Florida non-profit organization working to promote shark conservation and awareness through education, research and community outreach. Susana immigrated from Cuba, living in Finland before settling in the U.S. She began writing at an early age, focusing on conservation work throughout the world. Today, she understands the power in having a voice and hopes her words can have an impact on others, leading to a global shift on how humans interact with wild animals and their environments.
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2) “Understanding Childhood Cancer” by Warren Alperstein, MD and Oscar Ortiz
Join us for a special presentation in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Bio: Oscar Ortiz is the Executive Director of the SebastianStrong Foundation, an organization focused on raising awareness of childhood cancer and funding research for less toxic, more targeted childhood cancer treatments and cures. The foundation was started in 2017 shortly after the passing of Oscar’s then 16 year old son, Sebastian, after a brutal 14 month battle with rhabdomyosarcoma. SebastianStrong has awarded nearly $1.8 million in grants to fund new and cutting-edge medical research across the country in the hopes of one day eradicating childhood cancers. The Foundation also provides financial support to assist kids and their families with the hardships of battling cancer.
Bio: Warren Alperstein, MD, is Assistant Professor of Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplants at the University of Miami, as well as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics. He is a graduate of Technion Medical School at the Israel Institute of Technology and obtained his BS in Child Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Alperstein completed his internship and residency at the University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital, and won a fellowship in pediatric bone marrow transplantation at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is also active in Chai Life Line – a support network that provides social, emotional and financial support to children with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses and their families. Warren is married with children and is a supporter of all Chicago-based sports teams.
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3) “Sensuality IS your Superpower” by Patty Suau
Let’s get sexy darling! Follow my journey as TinyFcknPix, from devastating heartbreak to life as an orgasm. I will share with you how I discovered my delicious superpower of sensuality and how you can step into yours too.
Bio: Patty is a sassy and spunky artist choosing drawing as her medium for communicating across different cultures. A formative moment in her evolution as an artist came in 2013 when she debuted TinyFcknPix, a series of miniature erotic drawings framed in large formats. The series was born from the desire to heal the pain of breaking up with her ex-fiance and figuring out her self-confidence. Today the works continue to evolve, varying in size but always addressing self-love, connection, intimacy and emotional intelligence.
Please join us in wishing Co-Boss Melissa well as she leaves Miami to follow her nerdy dreams.
This month’s speakers and topics:
1) “What Will The Future Look Like? Cyberpunk, Solarpunk, and Cybertribe”
by Juan Lozano
Ever wondered what people will be wearing in 2050? Will it be jetpacks, or is the global flood going to mean the next generation is canoeing to work? The culture of the future is an obsession and a passion for Juan Lozano, founder of the /r/CyberTribe futurist art community on Reddit. Through this public conversation about cyberpunk, solarpunk, and futurist speculation, the questions we hope to answer for you include: What countries will sculpt the pop culture of The Future? What industries will rise and fall? And what color will The Future be?
Juan is an author and YouTuber. His channel covers Miami as an “artsy tour guide.” He and his brother are the authors of the book Poetry From The Future, Interactive YouTube Book, which has sold more than 300 copies at events like Bonnaroo Music Festival and the Miami Book Fair. In 2021, Juan started a community on Reddit that celebrates the vision of the future he says he most identifies with. Find it at https://reddit.com/r/cybertribe
2) “I Almost Threw Up While Taking the GRE, But It Was For the Best: How Removing Standardized Tests May Hinder College Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts”
by Sergio Marquez
Standardized tests are in hot waters following recent college admissions scandals and ongoing accusations of racial bias, with several universities and graduate programs cutting them in solidarity with marginalized students. However, this decision has psychology professors and test bias researchers concerned about the unintended consequences this may have on the population meant to be benefit. Why and how could that be? This talk will overview what we know about standardized testing (e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.), what effects characteristics such as socioeconomic status have on college admissions and test scores, how psychologists understand and address test bias, and what could happen by removing standardized testing from admission standards. This will be followed by discussion, grounded in test measurement literature, that offers potential meaningful, productive solutions for universities to select and support BIPOC and other underrepresented students within university settings.
Sergio is a fifth-year Organizational Psychology PhD Student at Michigan State University. Sergio’s primary research areas are occupational health, emotion regulation, and selection test fairness and bias. He’s published and presented research in organizational psychology outlets such as “Perspectives on Science and Practice Journal” and “Society of Industrial Organizational Psychology” annual conferences, as well other outlets such as the “Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.” He’s further worked with several organizations such as Indeed, Ford Motor Company, Detroit Medical Health System, and HumRRO (Human Resources and Research Organization) . When he’s not drowning in research, Sergio is an avid Magic the Gathering player and theme park enthusiast.
3) “Why Mama Was Wrong (And What She Didn’t Teach You About Credit Cards)”
by Joe Brutus
Your momma might’ve taught you wrong. Find out how by learning about a history of credit cards, as well as their pros & cons.
Joe Brutus is a Miami Hurricane and FIU Panther alum. Prefers frequent short walks to the fridge over long walks on the beaches. Somehow stumbled into the financial industry during the ’08 recession.
July 8, 2021
7:30pm
Gramps Bar. Wynwood
This month’s speakers and topics:
1) “Appearance and Reality”
by Dr. Aldrich Chan
What does it mean to reassemble models of reality? This presentation will discuss the various illusions our brainmind creates in order for our experience of reality to appear as it does.
Dr. Aldrich Chan is a neuropsychologist and author of Reassembling Models of Reality. He is the Founder of Center for Neuropsychology & Consciousness, Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and Research Associate at University of Miami.
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2) “Threats to Dade County’s Wildlife”
by Lloyd Brown
This presentation will point out some of the major threats to the wild animals native to South Florida.
Lloyd Brown founded Wildlife Rescue of Dade County in 1995. Lloyd is licensed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service to rescue and rehabilitate injured and orphaned native wild animals. He has rescued animals and taught others how to rescue animals all over the planet from South Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. This past February, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award from National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA), and in March he received the title of “Ambassador” from the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC). He is also a former Army Paratrooper and is currently a firefighter, paramedic, technical rescue technician, and dive rescue instructor for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
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3) “Watt walks”
by Dr. Anthony Krupp
What happens when a medieval pilgrim (or is he a rolled-up carpet? or is he a long wet dream?) enters an existentialist novel? Samuel Beckett’s Watt, that’s what. Not that Watt is a pilgrim, for he is not. In addition to getting a taste of the sparse stoic hilarity of Beckett’s language, you will learn about the history of walking, romanticism, vegetation, and music. You will also get to hear a world premiere, performed live, of a choral work when Tony Krupp and friends present “Ditch music (Op. 20).”
Tony Krupp has published on the history of childhood, the history of psychology, and German literature and thought. He is also an amateur singer, pianist, and composer. His day job involves teaching students to pick A, B, C, or D on standardized tests. (It’s more fun than it sounds!) The nights belong to his friends, loved ones, and (lately) fiction by Cervantes and Beckett.
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Schedule for the night:
7:00 Doors open
7:30 Presentations begin
9:00 Double Stubble
We’re back!! Join us for our first in person event since February 2020.
Thursday, June 10, 2021
7:00-9:00pm
Gramps Bar, 176 NW 24th St, Miami, FL 33127
This month’s speakers and topics:
1) The Ascent of Poverty and Prosperity in the Modern World
by Jorge Velasco
This presentation will explore the institutional and political factors that propelled certain countries to prosperity and condemned other to the endless cycles of strife and destitution. My quest in this project was to answer one simple question….Why did my family leave Colombia? What did the United States have that Colombia didn’t? I found myself looking into the organization of labor in the Colonial era, the reaction of European Elites to the Industrial Revolution, and perpetual violence that stop countries like mine and ours from reaching it’s untapped potential. We will also be discussing Rick Ross because I somehow tied him into all of this.
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2) The Lost City of Atlantis: Fable or Foreshadowing?
by Alycia Ciresi
Miamians already know that flooding due to sea level rise is not a future concern, but a present threat. From wading through our backyards to cephalopods making headlines landing in parking garages, we have all observed the oddities, inconveniences, and even danger posed by encroaching waters. What does the future of flooding in South Florida look like? In this presentation, we explore the geographic realities of who is most at risk, who can invest in their future (and how to do it), and present case studies of other at-risk cities and their engineered flood management strategies.
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3) Fear & Loathing in Biscayne National Park: The Dark History of a Maritime Paradise
by Gary Bremen
The largest marine park in the National Park System sits at Miami’s front door and offers amazing opportunities to watch wildlife, recreate and learn about some fascinating history, but there is also a lot of history that gets swept under the rug. Nerd Nite veteran Gary Bremen introduces us to some of the park’s lesser-known stories of racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and scandal.