Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
The order of the night’s line-up will be announced on the Facebook event the day of the show.
EyeSpy: How to turn your eye into a microscope
Summary: A thrilling tale full of excitement (!), romance (!), and appropriation of technology from the military industrial complex! Learn the cutting edge science behind ‘Adaptive Optics’ and how we’re using it cure blindness.
Alison Huckenpahler
Presenter Bio: Alison graduated from UW-Madison in 2012. Being terrified of becoming an actual adult with a real job, she signed on for 8 more years of school and started an MD/PhD program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Currently in year 5, she classifies herself as an alcoholic with a research problem and knows a lot about eyes.
A Goat, A Cat, and a Bartman.
Summary: The Chicago Cubs took 71 years to return to the World Series and 108 years to win it. Along the way, the franchise and fan base was struck with 3 major curses that became the bane of generations of Cubs fans. Luckily, this story ends happily ever after (if you’re a Cubs fan or like to see curses broken).
Nick Marzotto
Presenter bio: Nick has lived in Madison for the past six years. He has a deep love for singing, trivia, and as his wife calls it “Sportsball.” A sports geek to the core, Nick loves to nerd out over stats and sports gossip.
Hustle & Flow: The Rise of Computational Fluid Dynamics
Summary: If a material flows, it’s a fluid. Gases and liquids, aka fluids, are a big part of why everyday objects operate the way they do. From airplanes and cars to blenders and HVAC systems, the dynamics of fluids determine the design of many things around us. But how do we go about architecting the next race car or wind turbine? We could throw everything in a wind tunnel, but physical tests are expensive. Come learn how computational fluid dynamics is reducing the need for physical testing by rising to the challenge of virtual engineering design.
Kelly Senecal
Presenter bio: Kelly co-founded the software company Convergent Science while earning his doctorate in mechanical engineering at UW-Madison. In addition to running the business, Kelly enjoys playing the drums, attending live concerts, and long walks on the beach…but only after applying SPF 70…at night.
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
The order of the night’s line-up will be announced on the Facebook event the day of the show.
Sunscreen: A Guided Safari
Summary: On the brink of summer, join us in the wild hunt for the prime sun protecting product. How do some ingredients block UV rays while others absorb them? Safari hats and binoculars recommended for this game drive.
Laurel Legenza
Presenter Bio: Laurel is a pharmacist working on research projects at UW-Madison. Her research includes infectious disease quality improvement projects in Wisconsin and South Africa that support a culture of antimicrobial stewardship.
Diabetes
Summary: This presentation clarifies what diabetes is, dispels common fundamental misconceptions about the disease, and provides tips for supporting someone who lives with its challenges.
Ken Fager
Presenter bio: Ken is an Apple-oriented IT Librarian for Bucky by day, a Geeks Who Drink Quizmaster by night, and is a genuine Type 1 diabetic.
1984: The Best Year in Music
Summary: Which year had the best music? This is a fun argument to have at a bar with friends. Rob will tell you a story about a King, a Boss, a Prince and a Virgin and by the end, you’ll realize why and how 1984 became the best year in music.
Rob Lumley
Presenter bio: Rob builds websites for the Morgridge Institute for Research. He also is a co-host of the podcast, Tombstone Minute—the minute by minute podcast about the movie, Tombstone. This is his third time on the Nerd Nite stage and much like his other two, he’ll continue to discuss pop culture nostalgia.
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Guns, Drugs, and Money: Prison Reform in Wisconsin
Summary: Why do we need to reform prisons in Wisconsin and how do we do it? The US has 5% of the world’s population but 23% of the world’s prisoners. One in two-hundred-fifty Wisconsinites are currently in prison. One in sixty-five are currently in prison or on community supervision. Wisconsin has the same crime rate as Minnesota yet it has twice as many people in prison. Prison reform can be done in a bipartisan manner (Is that still allowed?), especially if we focus on the savings, aka the almighty dollar. Finally, Jake will let you know a couple ways to drastically reduce the number of people in prison.
Jake Jay
Presenter Bio: Jake is a law graduate from UW-Madison who focused on criminal defense but now works for Wisconsin prisons. He enjoys happy hour, podcasts, public transportation, and perhaps most importantly the Milwaukee Bucks. He is passionate about reducing the number of people in prison and finding a way to effect that change in the state of Wisconsin.
Doin’ it Like They Do on the Discovery Channel
Summary: Many are asking when April the Giraffe will have her baby, but the more important question is how the hell did she even get pregnant in the first place. We will cover how zoo animals breed and the scientific process occurring all over the world.
Tomissa Porath
Presenter bio: Tomissa always has a book in her bag and is either drinking a latte or craft beer at any given moment. While working for Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, she became transfixed in fundraising for nonprofits, which led her back to Madison where she now works for the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.
We All Talk Like Sailors, Even When We’re Not Swearing
Summary: You’ve been three sheets to the wind; you hate having the wind taken out of your sails; you’ve liked the cut of a jib or two. But you might not know that the impact of nautical terminology on the English language goes far beyond kitschy ways to say you’re drunk. In this talk we’ll look into how an extremely specialized slang spoken only by a handful of lonely, illiterate, sunburned men three hundred years ago become so influential in the way a quarter of the world communicates. We’ll be chock-a-block with scuttlebutt from the futtocks to the topgallant!
Zach Hanes
Presenter bio: Zach is a Wisconsin native and occasional comedian who recently returned to Madison after a stint out east, where there is an ocean. There he dabbled in improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy, and wrote some so-far unpublished comic books. He has almost no actual experience with sailing, but he loves history, words, and things made out of wood.
Date: Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Bacteria are friends… and also food, but mostly friends.
Summary: All too often, bacteria get a bad rap. Known as a chief contributor to disease, we have become obsessed with eliminating them via antibiotics and disinfectants. Our society is cleaner than it has ever been, but with antibiotic resistance as a big fat “spoiler alert,” we have realized it is impossible to completely get rid of bacteria. Turns out, getting rid of bacteria is more harmful to us than keeping them around. What do bacteria do for our overall health? Can they help us cure chronic illnesses that are on the rise? Can they help save our environment, or even shape the world as we know it? The overall answer is: yes, and so much more.
Macy Huettl
Presenter Bio: Macy is currently wrapping up her final semester as a master’s student and teaching assistant for the Department of Bacteriology at UW-Madison. In the fall, she will continue her studies and begin dental school, where she will work towards achieving her dream of becoming a dentist. In her very limited and sad free time, she enjoys word vomiting facts about microorganisms; running to the beat of Miike Snow’s iii; hanging out in her kayak, Gloria; drinking pitchers of PBR at the Argus; and loving her spoiled, cross-eyed cat, Benny. She is super pumped about her very first Nerd Nite presentation, and even though she likes several odd things (including other people’s mouths and infectious diseases), she thinks you’ll enjoy her presentation!
What I’ve learned from playing video games.
Summary: Video games have gotten a lot of attention in the media as time-wasting, frivolous, and even violence-promoting artifacts. To counterbalance this, I am going to go through some of the positive things research has to say about playing video games and how they have personally impacted me. Areas including promoting good teamwork, developing meaningful relationships, leveraging passion to improve ability, and developing persistence.
Craig Anderson
Presenter bio: Craig is a doctoral student in Digital Media here at UW, soon to be switching to informatics at UCI, and originally hailing from Canada. A lifelong gamer and science enthusiast, he aims to figure out the ways games cognitively influence players and how they can be leveraged for good.
Who wants to live forever?
Summary: We’ll take a look at physical, metaphysical, and fantastical ways human have proposed to capture eternity—everything from becoming a god to uploading your consciousness. We’ll begin with religious views on immortality and transition to scientific and computer approaches with a sprinkle of science fiction and fantasy along the way. Some are these ideas more feasible than others, and we’ll try to find your best bet to live forever.
Mike Hendrickson
Presenter bio: Mike is a neuroscientist and sometimes vegetable gardener. who works for local biotech startup. He lives on the East Side (okay, it’s technically Monona) and has a cat named Birdy who makes pigeon noises. This will be his third time presenting at Nerd Nite Madison.
Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Your Body Wants You to Get Pregnant: Birth Control, Anti Depressants, and the Female Hormonal Cycle
Summary: Did you know that hormone levels affect the brain? Learn how the female hormonal cycle conspires to get you pregnant, and how antidepressants and birth control can work against your hormonal cycle, affecting your fertility and your mood.
Essie Lenchner
Presenter Bio: Essie recently quit working in healthcare IT and is now pursuing rock climbing, biochemistry, and her period.
The Mormon War and the King of Beaver Island
Summary: This story will be in three parts: a brief history of Mormonism in America, the death of Joseph Smith and subsequent schism between Brigham Young and Joseph Strang (the King of Beaver Island), and the Mormon war of 1857-1858.
Liam Walsh
Presenter bio: Liam is an adventurer and man about town. He’s a transfer from Detroit, by way of Edinburgh who lives with two paranoid and loving tiny dogs in Monona. He has found that a bachelor’s degree in fine arts is both priceless and useless. This is Liam’s first time speaking at Nerd Nite, but he’s been spinning yarns for years around town and around the world.
Lessons from the Sockeye Salmon
Summary: Join Ben as we explore the Alaskan Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run. Salmon have an amazing physiology to cope with their strenuous migration and their popularity has lead to their near destruction in 1950’s. He’ll take you on a whirlwind tour of the unique biology, economics, and fishing mechanics governing one of the largest migrations on earth.
Ben Beduhn
Presenter bio: Ben is a second year medical student from an Alaskan commercial fishing family. He thinks that seafood is better than any of your Midwest beef, and is excited to share some of his sea knowledge with you greenhorns. Grab your rain gear and find your sea legs, because you’re on a boat now.
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Semiotics: How to Be a Real-World Symbol Hunter
Summary: In this talk John will do three things:
- Define semiotics (the science of signs and symbols) and talk about its real-world applications.
- Talk about one such application, the applying of visual semiotic theory to the training of deep-learning neural networks, that is, training such networks to think better as a function of teaching them to see better, as in “Ah! I see what you mean!”
- Talk about “5 Principles of Semiotics” that any would-be symbol hunter, “grail” quester, Robert Langdon, or Sherlock Holmes should know, principles such as “The Theory of Facial Height,” “The ‘Price Is Wrong’ Principle,” the “Meme, Seme, Deme Distinction,” and the “Sherlock Homing Principle”!
John Coletta
Presenter Bio: W. John Coletta, Ph.D., Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), is a former President (2010) and Vice President (2009) of the Semiotic Society of America, and currently sits on the Editorial Board of The American Journal of Semiotics. Professor Coletta’s principal research interests include Peircean semiotics; physiosemiosis; ecocriticism; biosemiotic criticism; the history and representation of ecological and evolutionary thought; and the major British poet and minor naturalist John Clare. He is also CEO of INT3RP INC, a consulting company with offices in Madison and Stevens Point offering “semiotic services” in several domains.
Cute Aggression: The Struggle to Resist Squeezing Cute Things
Summary: Puppies, kittens, and babies – why do all these adorable things make us go crazy with cute aggression? Often we find ourselves overwhelmed with a desire to squeeze or even act violently toward cute things, but somehow we very quickly suppress those feelings. This strange human reaction could be a coping mechanism by the brain when overloaded with too. much. cuteness.
Asuka Eguchi
Presenter bio: Asuka Eguchi, PhD, does stem cell research in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While the focus of her research has been on designing molecular switches to control cell fate, she enjoys all things science and has a particular fascination with information processing by the brain. She was a wolf in her previous life and still spends all her free time running.
How we make stuff — mass manufacturing plastic things
Summary: Every piece of plastic that you’ve bought is made using a set of tools that are carefully designed. Whether it’s injection molded, blow molded, cast, or thermoformed, that plastic was converted into a shape, and the tools left telltale signs. You’ll never see everyday objects the same, because after this talk you’ll be thinking about the underbelly of the plastics industry with everything you touch.
Bob Baddeley
Presenter bio: Bob is a computer engineer and works in consumer electronics for some of the hardware startups around Madison. He designs and builds Internet-connected sensors. He’s also a member at Sector67, the local makerspace where you can get experience with many of the plastics tools he will discuss and participate in crazy projects like a Bluetooth-enabled outhouse.
Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Facebook event >
Transcription Factors: the Pianists Playing the Music of our Cells
Summary: Every cell in our body has the same genetic information; a blueprint necessary for the fabrication of all types of cells in our body. Your eye cells have the same genes as your heart cells, but the function and the appearance of these cells are completely different. Have you ever wondered why? Of course you haven’t, who in their right mind would? Well biological scientists, like José, do. José hopes to convince you why it’s important to spend money and time in this type of basic research, but first you will learn what makes heart cells and eye cells distinct despite their identical genomic information.
José Rodríguez-Molina
Presenter bio: José is a PhD student at UW-Madison studying the nervous system. He grew up and lived for 23 years in Puerto Rico and ironically learned to sail in Lake Mendota. In the summer he loves to garden fruits, vegetables and flowers, and in the winters he waits for summer to come back.
A Brief History of Disco: from Dionysus to the Disco Duck
Summary: What was the first disco song (around 1972) and why did it come to flames in Chicago’s Disco Demolition Night (in 1979)? We’ll examine how established elements of Jazz, Funk, Latin & Soul cultures came together to worship “four-on-the-floor” & “the hustle.” Ritualistic dance fads will be surveyed as we travel sonically through known episodes of ecstatic dance music in history culminating in NYC nightclubs of the early 70s and the mainstream disco explosion years later.
John Feith
Presenter Bio: John has been the guitarist for VO5 (the Madison disco band) for 11 years and recently recorded and produced VO5’s debut album “Dance Originality,” winner of the MAMA’s 2015 “Unique Album of the Year” award. He is also the author and nature recordist of the “Bird Song Ear Training Guide” CD used by thousands of birdwatchers in the Midwest. Mr Feith has an Electrical Engineering degree from UW-Madison, where he once made an Ultrasound Theremin MIDI Controller. Other nerdy accomplishments include developing Noise Reduction and Acoustic Modeling algorithms for Sonic Foundry and building a near-anechoic chamber in his basement.
Facets of Steven Universe
Summary: How a show about gay space rocks shows us how to be humans.
Liz Davison
Presenter bio: Liz is a School Counselor at Madison Country Day School, a former library assistant/English teacher, and is out to get your children (to be better people). She’s probably wearing a costume right now.
Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
No Need for Butterflies in Your Stomach, Get Your Grub on!
Summary: Are you into whole, sustainable and healthy food? If so, you should be into insect cuisine. There are over 1,000 insect species eaten around the world. Learn about how to save the planet one bite at a time. See what microlivestock can bring to the table. And of course, try some delicious snacks!
Presenter bio: Joliene Lindholm is a PhD entomologist who enjoys sharing her love of science and insects through educational outreach opportunities and anyone who holds still long enough. She reacts to insects the way most people do to babies, puppies and kittens. Seriously, go look up cute bee flies right now!
Doing Women Justice: The Rise of Women in Comics
Summary: An introspective of females as characters in the American comic book culture in the last 60 years. Exploring the the humble beginnings of Lois Lane and her super hijinks, the amazing feminine paragons of the past who were outshined by the modern post-feminism super heroines, and the not so super women that now rule the comic racks.
Presenter Bio: Blake Alvarenga is Madison-born and has a crush on Lady Wisconsin who stands triumphant on the capitol building with the whole world in her palm. Blake is a state government bureaucrat by day, but you can catch him competing at Pundamonium the first Monday of every month at the High Noon Saloon.
How to be Happier
Summary: Using 3 elements from Martin Seligman’s PERMA model – Pleasure, Relationships and Engagement – I give examples of actionable steps I took to increase my own life satisfaction and which can be incorporated by audience members … with many laughs along the way.
Presenter bio: A member of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ that being 80’s babies, John Donnelly has lived, worked and played on the near east side of Madison for the past 8 years. In January John decided he wanted to be happier and went on an anal retentive search to learn how to do so. He is here to share what he found along the way.
Date: Wednesday September 28, 2016
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
I ღ Georgian
Summary: Georgian is a Kartvelian language and the official language of Georgia (the country). It dates back to the 5th century CE and is much better in every single respect than the vowel ridden, pathetic thing you call English. Strap yourself in for a whirlwind tour of Georgian linguistics and its idiosyncrasies along with some historical tidbits.
Presenter bio: Lado Bakh is an area medical student. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and subsequently moved to the United States to pursue his lifelong dream of berating Americans about the culture of his people despite having an embarrassingly inadequate and constantly diminishing grasp of said culture. His likes include writing about himself in the third person and sour beer.
Political Polarization: How’d we get this way?!
Summary: With every election cycle it feels like the political climate in the United States gets worse—more congressional gridlock, more incivility, more fear that there are people out there trying to wreck the place. How’d it get this way? Can anything be done about it? This talk will answer these questions…and more!
Presenter Bio: Paula McAvoy is a professional philosopher (earning her Platinum Nerd status) and the director of the Center for Ethics and Education at UW-Madison. She is also the co-author of the The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education, a New York Times Best Seller (not really, but one can still hope). She’s not a political scientist, but she often acts like one.
You Are the World to Somebody (and that somebody is a worm): the disgusting dramas inside us
Summary: They can get into your stomach via your foot. In your intestines, they might mate for life and have hundreds of thousands of babies a day. They manipulate your immune system and hide in plain sight. Remember that scene in Alien? It’s like that but cooler because there are pheromones and antibodies involved. And it’s real.
Presenter bio: Gail Emilia Rosen is a PhD student in infectious disease and viral ecology at UW Madison. When she DMs Call of Cthulhu, there is inevitably an NPC with tiny monsters popping out of his or her flesh. She is an excellent dinner table conversationalist.
Date: Wednesday August 31, 2016
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Flyin’ with the bumblebee: abducting, sedating, and radio-tagging bees…for science!
Summary: If you like eating food, then the humble bumble bee should bee (pun intended) one of your best friends. Over a third of the foods that sustain our massive population are entirely dependent on insects, like bees, for pollination. Bees, however, aren’t doing so hot in a lot of areas, and I’m on of the many scientists trying to figure out how to help them out. So, next time you bite into your favorite fruit, take a moment to thank the bumblebee: a fuzzy, flying teddy bear facilitating flowering plant sex since 40 million years BC.
Presenter bio: Jeremy Hemberger is a PhD student in the Department of Entomology (that’s bugs, not words) at the UW. He generally finds himself pretty psyched on things that start with “B”: bees, bugs, bikes, bouldering, beer, and all assortments of baked goods. Oh, and taking pictures.
The Pin-up Unpinned
Summary: Join Ashleigh Herrera in an exploration of sexuality, femininity, and body image through the lens of 1950’s undergarments. Using primary and secondary source materials, and a demonstration of the types of undergarments commonly used by women post WWII to the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, she will personally exhibit some of the differences and similarities in manner and etiquette surrounding the female form from then and now.
Presenter Bio: After collecting dead people’s clothing throughout high school and college, Ashleigh Herrera realized she could help other people look fabulous and keep her closet at a reasonable size by working at Good Style Shop in Madison, WI. She is also a Collections Conservation Associate in the Library, Archives, and Museum Collections department of the Wisconsin Historical Society where she doesn’t have to hoard things to see pretty clothes everyday.
The Evolution of Cooking Shows
Summary: Cooking shows actually started out on the radio, helping families make the most of wartime rations, and have been changing ever since. We’ll look at what those changes have been and how they reflect other changes in the culture. (Also, expect some ranting about the worst cooking show hosts — looking at you, Rachael and Guy — and wonder Jamie still watches them.)
Presenter bio: Jamie’s favorite cooking show is anything that involves Jacques Pépin chopping vegetables or saying “butter.” He hates Rachael Ray. Jamie works on campus for the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, he’s also Madison Nerd Nite’s boss.