Greetings beloved nerds, and welcome to the 2025 Season of Nerd Nite SF! Get ready for your monthly dose of nerdy delight starting with our inaugural show! Seek refuge from the chaos of 2025 with fun, funny, inspiring talks about the art of a classic Nawlins dish, the future of healthcare, and the power of collective action.
Lawrence Mckendell – The Art of GumboThe origin, influences and styles of a delicious, metaphorical cuisine. Lawrence created this gastro-ed talk as an homage to his late mother, Helen McKendell, and the vibrant city of New Orleans. The talk explores gumbo’s origins, cultural influences, and why it serves as an iconic metaphor for the region.
Bio: Lawrence McKendell traces his roots back to New Orleans’ 7th Ward, a predominantly Creole neighborhood on the edge of the now-famous French Quarter. As an Army brat, he was raised in many states, but Louisiana. However, thanks to his mom’s culinary magic—boiled crawfish and shrimp, red beans and rice, étouffée, stuffed mirliton, and, of course, the crown jewel, seafood gumbo—frequently graced the family dinner table, allowing his taste buds (and waistline) to fully embrace his Creole heritage. When he’s not dreaming of New Orleans cuisine, Lawrence is an award-winning graphic designer based in Oakland, CA, and coaches Ultimate Frisbee at Albany High School in Albany CA. He’s lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 50 years.
Barbie Klein & Rosalyn Plotzker – The Virtual Approach to Gynecology
Whether or not you’ve had a Pap test yourself, have you ever stopped to wonder, “How do people learn how to do that before they start seeing patients?” The Virtual Approach to Gynecology Project was created for healthcare trainees to practice the steps of a gynecologic exam in virtual reality. Come learn how VR is being used to help future healthcare providers deliver sexual health services.
Bio: Roz Plotzker is the UCSF Baum Family Simulation Scholar, and an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. After doing a Preventive Medicine residency in New York City, Roz came to San Francisco for a fellowship in Sexually Transmitted Infections which led to her current non-monogamous job of teaching, research, clinic and public health work.
Ivy Anderson & Devon Angus – Red Light Revolt! How Sex Workers Fought Gentrification in 1917 San Francisco
1906: San Francisco has been leveled by earthquake and fire. As the city rose again from the ashes, opportunistic speculators and moral reformers sought to mould the city in their own image. This included the erasure of the Barbary Coast, the city’s legendary vice district. In 1917, 300 sex workers stormed the church of the Rev. Paul Smith, a notorious anti-vice crusader. Kicking the man of the cloth off of his pulpit, they pleaded with his congregation, demanding better wages for working women and a cessation of the mass evictions they faced. Join historians Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus as they discuss a brief history of sex work, suppression and resistance in San Francisco from 1849 to today.
Bio: Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus are historians, writers, and filmmakers based in San Francisco. Their book, Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute, won the California Historical Society Book Award, and compiles previously unseen first-person narratives from sex workers and other working women living in San Francisco circa 1913. They are currently adapting this work into a feature-length film.
Our speaker Stepy Kamei will not be able to make it for this month’s show due to unforeseen circumstances; HOWEVER, the brilliant and generous Sahil Bansal will be stepping in to give a talk about SPACE, the celestial objects in it, and the people who have pursued them throughout history:
“Chasing Shadows – Tales of the Greatest(?) Eclipse Chasers”
From ancient civilizations to modern day American presidents, solar eclipses have fascinated us all. This talk is about those people who dared to go beyond the ordinary, running across the surface of the Earth in epic quests to chase our Moon’s shadow. Want to know about these fun/whimsical/ill-advised voyages and how they informed our modern sense of wonder and curiosity about space? Let’s dive right in!
About Sahil:
Aside from being an amateur solar eclipse chaser, Sahil works by day trying to make the internet a better place as a product manager in cloud storage. You can talk to him about all that goes into orchestrating a synchronized dance of electrons to bring you cat videos anytime, anywhere. Care to become a fellow eclipse chaser? Come say hi!
Spring is in the air and with the changing of the seasons come deeper questions about what it means to “change.” Change can be as mundane as putting on new clothes – or as complex as getting into an elaborate cosplay. Change can be as world-spanning as human-made climate shifts or as subtle as evolutionary adjustments to the shape of a finch’s beak. Join us for a night of fascinating fun; to learn about how people, laws, and animals change and how you can be a change-maker too!
Foxy McQueen – “A Glimpse Into The World of Cosplay!” A peek into the world of cosplay and all that goes into bringing your favorite characters to life! The word “cosplay” comes from a blend of two words: “costume” and “play.” Cosplayers buy or make their own costumes to pay tribute to their favorite characters (from anime, movies, video games, comics, etc) and wear them to conventions, movie premieres, and so much more! Some cosplayers use their craft as a profession, while most do it out of passion as a hobby. Come catch a glimpse of what it’s like to be a cosplayer!
Speaker Bio: Foxy McQueen (@foxyscreamqueen) is a local California cosplayer and published model. She began cosplaying locally in 2017. Since then, Foxy has cosplayed as over 20 different characters from various different fandoms and has attended conventions all over California and occasionally out of state. She uses a combination of purchased items and crafting pieces to make her costumes. To Foxy, cosplay is more than just a hobby; it’s a lifestyle. Check her out on IG to follow her cosplay journey!
Sonja Chen – “Can Grazin’ Goats Solve California’s Climate Crisis?” We’ve all heard that goat grazing helps fight California wildfires, but how feasible is the idea really? Behind those cute goats monching on the side of the road lies a complex economic and legal scheme that spans from the backcountry of the Sierra Nevadas to the mountains of Peru. We will explore the ways in which the structure of California’s goat grazing industry obstructs the state’s efforts to address climate change by restricting the growth of a sustainable vegetation management industry. You will never look at grazin’ goats the same way!
Speaker Bio: Sonja Chen is a law student at UC Law San Francisco concentrating in social justice and dispute resolution. Spurred by unending curiosity, her wide range of hobbies and interests include urban farming, painting, reading creative nonfiction, swimming, and enjoying nature. She currently owns a boutique events business and an orange cat named Rory. Her favorite mathematical experience is the Fibonacci sequence and her favorite English word is juxtaposition. She is a Gemini and a Wood Dog.
Adan Deeb – “If You Give a Bird a French Fry: Urbanization’s Effects on Beaks of Darwin’s Finches” We see birds eating things they shouldn’t eat almost daily. This quirky behavior of theirs is commonplace (and kind of cute). But what really happens when birds eat french fries, eggs, or tortillas instead of bugs and seeds? In this talk, we will try to understand one way that urban civilization affects how animals interact with their environment, and how that drives evolutionary change.
Speaker Bio: Adan is a biologist passionate about environmental justice and equitable scientific education. She is an unapologetic nerd and spends her free time birding, reading, and consuming her body weight in coffee.
They say that music soothes even the savage beast, and while we can’t vouch for any beast-related benefits, we are excited to welcome the brain-tingling Dan McCalley and Shell Space to the stage for this month’s Nerd Nite!
Dan McCalley – “A New Era in Mental Healthcare: Brain Stimulation Therapy for Addiction and Beyond”
A (brief) history of alcohol and drug use throughout human society, a look at our previous (not-so-great) attempts to treat addiction, and a final pitch for how brain stimulation may bring about a new era of medicine for addiction and beyond.
Bio: Dan McCalley, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford. His research focuses on developing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, an FDA-approved depression treatment, for addiction.
Shell Space (Band) – “Nerd Rock”
A musical tour of nerdom, from literature to mathematics and everything in between.
Bio: Shell Space is a six-piece indie rock band birthed in Berkeley. Their songs reference Tilden Park, rectangles, and feldspar
Kick off spooky season with a nerdy twist at our Halloween special! Featured will be a talk on the real Gray’s Anatomy, tarot readings by Nerd Nite alum Ben Grandis, a pumpkin decorating contest (with prizes!), music by dj andjelly, and our friends in nerdom, the SF Public Library crew. Just added: a special presentation on adaptive fashion with Tracy Vollbrecht! There will be something for everyone, in true Nerd Nite fashion! (pun intended)
Thursday, October 19 Doors 7pm / Show 8pm $10 online / $15 door
The Real Gray’s Anatomy Was So Much Worse by Patrick Kelly The medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, got its name from the most famous medical textbook of all time — Gray’s Anatomy. And the story of the book’s creation has the same level of drama and life-or-death action as the show… but with much less hooking up in the on-call room, and much more smallpox. In this talk, you’ll learn how medical education has changed over time, the controversial career of Henry Gray, and how to procure a cadaver. At least in 1850s London.
Patrick Kelly is a Bay Area based science communicator specializing in video creation. He’s written and researched video scripts for YouTube channels like SciShow and Seeker, as well as for institutions like the Mütter Museum and the American Public Health Association. These days, he makes videos about the history of medicine on YouTube. Subscribe at www.YouTube.com/@patkellyteaches
The Spooky Truth: How Disability Inclusion Is Left Out of Fashion by Tracy Vollbrecht
Despite being the largest minority group and the only minority group anyone can join at any point in life, people with disabilities are often left out of the fashion industry. In this talk, you’ll learn how clothing impacts societal participation, what adaptive fashion is, and how we can all benefit from disability inclusion. Plus you’re guaranteed to see some cute, funny, and ghoulish costumes in the process!
Tracy Vollbrecht is the founder of Vollbrecht Adaptive Consulting, an adaptive fashion consultancy rooted in universal design principles. Tracy’s work has been featured in Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue, Oprah Daily, and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not enjoying all of SF’s awesome remote work spots, you can find her kayaking or stand up paddle boarding in the bay – sometimes even in costume! Connect with Tracy on Instagram (@VollbrechtAdaptiveConsulting) and TikTok (@VollbrechtAdaptive).
We are reluctantly wiggling out of our Hot Nerd Summer series, but full steam ahead into the Fall! Join us in September to experience the Nerd Wiggling Extravaganza where we will be featuring things that wiggle: waves, maggots, and your body.
Nerd Nite SF 9/20/23 Rickshaw Stop Doors 7pm, show 8pm $10 online, $15 door Tickets here!
(Note: The info on the Rickshaw page is outdated. This email and our website have the correct lineup. )
The World is Made of Waves by Yousef Hindy
Waves are all around us in ways that we may not even realize. They are how we humans perceive and interact with the world, yet many think of waves as restricted to the ocean or football stadiums. In this talk you will see how all the things you see (and dont see) in the world around you are made of waves and are governed by wave principles. We’ll come to understand what a wave is, some real world examples, and how to evaluate and find wave-like phenomena in your everyday life.
Yousef is a physicist turned software engineer. He discovered his love of waves in his high school physics courses, and continued his exploration as he studied physics in undergrad. He currently uses waves to teach cars how to drive.
Maggot Therapy or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bugs by Avir Mitra MD
What’s the most disgusting thing I see too often in the ER? Maggots. In this lecture, we explore the fascinating science and history of maggot infections and the surprising ways in which they may be just what the doctor ordered.
Avir Mitra is an ER doctor and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He moonlights as a contributing editor at Radiolab and has also written and produced stories for Vice, The Pulse and Here and Now. You can keep up with him on Insta @avirmitra and on Twitter @avirrr.
Why We Want to Wiggle: This is Your Brain on Exercise by Katie Shakman
The brain is a miraculous organ, allowing us to sense, experience, and interact with the world. And it’s constantly changing. Everything we do impacts the connections our neurons will form, and some of our behaviors — like exercise — can have an outsized impact. We’ll explore controversy and surprising connections in the life of your brain and the neuroscience of how your own actions can change it.
Katie is a neuroscientist-turned-mental health data scientist who has studied fly aggression and the importance of salience signals for learning and memory. While earning her PhD, she served on the board of Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach where she shared her enthusiasm for the brain with New Yorkers at events across the city.
Joining us again will be the SF Public Library and DJ AndJelly!
