Nerd Nite DC

DC9 Nightclub
DOORS: 6:00PM
FREE
21+

After our summer hiatus, Nerd Nite is BACK IN ACTION in a big way! We’ve teamed up with the nerds over at Leidos to bring you an extra-special Nerd Nite extravaganza.

Thanks to our sponsor, tickets to this extra-special Nerd Nite are ABSOLUTELY FREE! Also, the first 100 people there on the day of the show get one free drink ticket AND a special door prize. There’s also going to be a booth with puzzle games! And, of course, three amazingly nerdy talks. Here’s the lineup this month:

“If Books Could Kill: Deadly Bookbindings and What Makes Them That Way”

Summary: Being a special collections librarian is usually not seen as a dangerous job, but sometimes that line about “other duties as assigned” packs a real punch! A 1602 edition of Ulisse Aldrovandi’s De Animalibus Insectus housed in the Smithsonian Libraries holds a deadly secret: its binding contains a frankly shocking amount of arsenic. This new discovery was revealed through the collaboration of book history and technology, and highlights some interesting aspects of bibliography and science.

Presenter Bio: Allie Newman is a rare book librarian and book historian at the Cullman Library in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, one of 21 branches of the Smithsonian Libraries. She has more research interests than you can shake a stick at, but in her heart of hearts she is a binding historian and medievalist. The Librarian of Congress recently called Allie a cool librarian in public and on Twitter, so her career has pretty much peaked.

“Bees That Aren’t Scary and Imperialists Who Very Much Are (Or: Stingless Honeybees in Colonial Mexico)”

Summary: There are honeybees without stingers! They are very small, very important, and their honey is both delicious and eye-wateringly expensive. But when the Spanish colonized the Yucatán Peninsula they were more interested in their wax than their honey. This talk is all about how beeswax was extracted in the Maya region when it was a Spanish colony: where it went, who got rich, who didn’t get rich, and how honeybees probably felt about having their nests smashed all the damn time. It’s got fancy digital maps, conquistadors deeply regretting their life choices, the eighteenth-century equivalent of a middle finger, and some super cool bees.

Presenter Bio: Geoff Wallace is an environmental historian and historical geographer from McGill University who has been almost done his PhD for two years. He is also a visiting researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies. He’s been digging up archival records from colonial Mexico and shoehorning them into digital maps for his entire graduate career.

“Maritime Unmanned Surface Vessel Autonomy: An Application”

Summary: When ships become robots, the seas become safer and ships become weirder in the most technologically advanced way you can imagine.

Presenter Bio: Dr. Timothy A. Barton is a Leidos Vice President, Technical Fellow, and Solutions Architect, and is currently the Chief Engineer of the Leidos Mission Systems Integration Operation (MSIO), where he helps oversee all technical aspects of the Operation’s efforts in the maritime domain – including a wide variety of sensor systems and platforms. Dr. Barton’s technical background and research interests include sonar and radar signal processing, algorithm development, autonomy, test and evaluation, underwater acoustics, and ocean engineering. Prior to joining Leidos (formerly SAIC) in 2005, Dr. Barton was a Staff Member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory from 1993 to 2005. Dr. Barton holds B.Sc. (1987) and M.Sc. (1989) degrees in Electrical Engineering from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a D.Sc. (1993) degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington University. Dr. Barton currently resides in Reston Virginia with his family, and his hobbies include photography, music, and fly fishing.

More info: https://www.dc9.club/event/1726105-nerd-nite-washington/

DC9 Nightclub
DOORS: 6:00PM
$10
21+

Summer learnin’ had me a blast.
Summer learnin’ happened so fast.
Heard a talk about Rick & Morty.
Heard a talk about robots at sea.
Summer days, driftin’ away
To ah, oh, those summer nerd nites!

Want us to tell you more, tell you more? Then mark your calendar for the next Nerd Nite, with speakers so amazing that it will be love at first sight! Don’t believe me? See for yourself:

“#TeamKaiju: Why We’re Fighting Giant Robots in the Marianas Trench”

Summary: Deep-sea mining is coming to an ocean basin near you. Over the last decade, this nascent industry had emerged from the haze of science fiction and the first mines are set to open in the next 18 months. What are they mining, what lives there, and what are we doing to ensure that commercial deep-sea mining doesn’t follow the same arc of environmental destruction as it’s terrestrial counterparts.

Presenter Bio: Dr. Andrew Thaler is a deep-sea ecologist and population geneticist. He’s been working at the intersection of science and policy surrounding human impacts in the deep sea for the last decade.

“The Science of Rick and Morty, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Destroy my Enemies”

Summary: Rick don gone aggro in this one broh! Morty mussed up big and makes Rick splain is actions. Things go ham.

Presenter Bio: Marty, nerd/adventurer, searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. His continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. And so Marty finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap …will be the leap home.

“How To Train Your Padawan: Using Star Wars in School Curricula”

Summary: We understand a little about brain science and the power of storytelling. We understanding even more about Star Wars. What would happen if we put our understanding of both together? I’ll tell you what would happen. Teachers would be armed with a powerful tool designed to help teach kids about internal conflict and external decision making. That’s what!

Presenter Bio: Slli’m Williams is the worst kind of renaissance man. By day, he is a consultant focusing on digital forensics investigations and e-discovery support. With whatever time remains, Slli’m is an event host who holds a regular open mic every 4th and 5th Monday at Busboys and Poets Shirlington. He is a writer, spoken word artist, and MC. Slli’m is also an aspiring improv and voice-over actor. He has performed in several improve showcases and been the featured poet for the improv troop “Poetic Resistance”. He is even an actual renaissance man, as he loves to attend the Maryland Renaissance Festival every year.