Wednesday, 4/20/2016
Doors at 7, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets here
Toast to the double helix with the most at this month’s Nerd Nite SF! But that’s not all – we’ll learn what baseball analytics has to teach us about data science, and how vaping is changing the tobacco control game. Plus there’ll be science rhymes, bao, librarians, libations, and a whole lotta smart people in the audience. Get your start codon together, because it’s on!
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National DNA Day
DNA Day commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project and the publication of DNA’s double helix structure in Aprils 2003 and 1953, respectively. We’re doing our part in a very Nerd Nite way with Tom McFadden kicking the night off with a science history rap battle of Rosalind Franklin vs Watson & Crick, and serving up DNAquiries – a strawberry + rum shot where the strawberry DNA precipitates out and forms a nice viscous layer in the drink. Yum!
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Guest MC: Tom McFadden
Tom is the host of “Science with Tom”, and he’ll be your MC for the evening. Tom works with middle school students to research, write, and perform their own science raps, and he has been known to spit hot lyrical fire of his own. Tom started science rapping in 7th grade, then at Stanford, then with kids around the world. He got a Masters in Science Rapping on a Fulbright Scholarship in New Zealand. He’s now teaching 8th-grade science at The Nueva School in Hillsborough.
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“The Science, Joy, and Heartache of Baseball Analytics” by Tracy Altman, PhD.
A beautiful thing about data science is that so-called outsiders can contribute meaningfully. Baseball analytics is a perfect example: An early version of citizen scientists recorded MLB play-by-plays for geeks everywhere – triggering lawsuits and fueling tech companies. Tracy will show how sports analytics parallel most applications of data science. ‘Inside baseball’ is a great place for anyone who wants to understand how data helps people make better decisions.
Tracy Altman, PhD, is the founder of Ugly Research in Oakland. She has wrangled data and created analytical content for decision makers in oil and gas investing, science publishing, pharmaceutical R&D, and baseball statistics.
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“Hot Aerosol: E-Cigs, Tobacco Control, and the Nicotine Endgame” by C.A.B. Fredericks
Cigarettes are SPECTACULARLY bad for you. There are few things you can do to reduce your chances of dying awfully more than quitting. E-cigarettes are Not Cigarettes, and this has generated lots of enthusiasm, confusion, and very decisive statements in the face of vast voids of knowledge. This presentation explores three big debates about e-cigs/vapes: do they help you quit, are they harm reduction, and what does nicotine addiction really mean?
C.A.B. Fredericks is a former smoker who now works for the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. His interests include addiction research, behavioral health in vulnerable populations, and fantasy baseball, which he probably should’ve lectured on instead.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Food: Delicious pork belly bao and other bun-goodness from CrossHatch Eatery.
Plus: The San Francisco Public Library will be on hand to dole out library cards, reading lists, and the hottest branch gossip.
Wednesday, 3/16/2016
Doors at 7, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets here
Is all the rain making you feel like a prisoner in your own historically notable home? Well, March 16th is the first day of the bacchanalia, so why dontcha make like Bacchus and get all ecstatic and inebriated at our celebration of smarts, obsession, and the surprising complexity of our world. The librarius and grilled-cheeseus cults will initiate you into their ways, wine and music will flow, and a scientist, an attorney, and an architectural historian will spark off the intellectual revelry. Be there and be square!
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“A Walk Through the Stem Cellar: Sampling the Many Different Flavors and Vintages of Stem Cells” by Dr. Julie Mangada
Take a tour of the Stem Cellar with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging as your guide! Stem cell breakthroughs lead to a better understanding of cancer and to the development of therapies for Parkinson’s disease. Julie will take you through an exploration of the different types of stem cells, along with the myths and misconceptions of stem cell research.
Dr. Julie Mangada is the Education Outreach Coordinator for the Buck Institute and a local girl originally from Petaluma. Also roller derby addict, Julie is passionate about bringing research out of the lab and into the communities where she grew up, usually while wearing skates and elbow pads.
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“Tantalizing Stories and Technical Stuff in Architectural History” by Christina Dikas
The Parthenon, the Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde, the Paramount Theatre of Oakland–there’s no question these are important structures, design-wise. But architectural historians aren’t just interested in how they were built, they care about who lived in and used them, too. Find out how architectural history factors into California’s city planning, the basics of evaluating buildings for historic significance, and how fame, murder, and particle accelerators figure into all of this.
Christina is an architectural historian in San Francisco. During her free time, she is a photographer and inadvertent tour guide, spouting historical trivia to anyone who happens to accompany her around the city.
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“Bodies and Bondage: History of California’s Prisons” by Jared Rudolph
California’s prison system started as a privately-run barge anchored in the Bay, and was embroiled in corruption, political scandal, and violence. Since then, our system has grown to incarcerate more people than the population of Berkeley. Prisons represent the power of the state in its most raw and basic form, and 165 years later Californians are still confronting the same fundamental questions: Why do we incarcerate people, what happens when they leave, and can we do better?
Jared Rudolph is a criminal defense attorney and the founder of Prisoner Reentry Network (
prisonerreentrynetwork.org), a non-profit that supports successful transitions from incarceration to the community. If you’re arrested, he suggests you shut up so you don’t talk yourself into prison.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Food: Delicious hot goop between crispy slices of bread, brought to you by the scientist of the sammie, Grilled Cheese Guy.
Plus: The San Francisco Public Library will be on hand to dole out library cards, reading lists, and the hottest branch gossip.
SOLD OUT! There is usually some number of no-shows so we will release limited tickets at the door shortly before showtime.
Wednesday, 2/17/2016
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets here
Remember the legendary PSA with the egg and the frying pan? We’ll find out what our brains REALLY look like when they’re on drugs, and we’ll also swim back in time to the saltwater pools of the Sutro Baths and thrill to some Texan bridge demolition porn. This is your brain on Nerd Nite. Any questions? Well, that’s what the Q&A section is for, silly! With grilled cheese, librarians, and the Rickshaw bar staff to help you wet your whistle: Be there and be square!
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“Sutro’s Glass Palace” by John A. Martini
Like a majestic ocean liner or a grand hotel, the Victorian-era Sutro Baths dazzled visitors with over-the-top opulence. Today, only broken concrete ruins remain at Land’s End, but still draw hundreds of visitors daily. Marvel at many never-before-seen photographs of Adolph Sutro’s legendary glass palace.
John is a native San Franciscan and lifelong researcher into the history of California and the American West. He worked as a ranger for more than 25 years at national parks around the country, including the Marin Headlands and the Presidio. Now an independent consultant specializing in historical research, he appears regularly on PBS, History Channel, A&E Network, and National Geographic Channel.
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“Psychedelic Data Science: Mapping the Drug Experience” by Jessica Nielson
Can you imagine what psychedelic experiences look like? Ever wondered if illegal drugs are actually better for you than legal ones? (Some of you may have even performed copious independent studies!) With the increase in data about the harmful effects of prescription drugs and the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, big-data machine learning technologies are helping us answer those questions. Come trip balls—ahem!—observe a psychedelic data visualization journey through various drug experiences.
Jessica is a UCSF neuroscientist focused on finding better treatments for complex neurological disorders. In her free time, she is an advocate of cognitive liberty and studying the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for mental health.
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“The State of Texas Paid Me to Break a Bridge” by Bryce Neuman
Keen on saving money on inspections, TXDoT funded a research project to determine how “fracture-critical” their 10,000+ highway bridges really were. So a team from UT Austin’s structures lab rebuilt a 120’-long, decommissioned bridge and set out to break it. Yep, they used explosives—but it still took three tries! Come hear about this four-year effort, the engineering basics of the bridge, how they pushed it to its limits, and the results that surprised even the state’s (well, it’s Texas, after all) experts.
Just coming out of his third fractional-life crisis (in the form of a 14-month trip to Asia), Bryce loves planning and building, earth and life sciences, the great outdoors, and plain-old riding his bike.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Food: Delicious hot goop between crispy slices of bread, brought to you by the scientist of the sammie, Grilled Cheese Guy.
Plus: The San Francisco Public Library will be on hand to dole out library cards, reading lists, and the hottest branch gossip.
Wednesday, 1/20/16
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets available here
With Auld Lang Syne still reverberating in our ears, the first Nerd Nite SF of 2016 draws nigh. If your New Year’s resolution was to learn new things, meet interesting people, or kill more brain cells with beer then we have the event for you! A scientist will tell you how to replace those brain cells, an insider dishes on D.C., and a third talk to be announced. Plus special guest: The SF Department of Elections! After hearing about behind the scenes of D.C. politics, you’re probably going to want to vote, and these folks will get you registered. Come out for three fascinating talks, plus music, drinks, food, voter registration, and your fellow nerds. Be there and be square!
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“Hype, Hyperbole, and Human Nature: An insider’s tale of working on the front lines of politics” by Jill Stracko
Is working in politics as goosebump-inducing as the West Wing, as dark as House of Cards portrays, or as hormone-laced as Scandal? People come from all kinds of backgrounds to work for elected officials, and their motivations and experiences run the gamut. Come throw back a few and hear about working in the eye of the storm of politics in Washington, D.C.
Jill has worked at Google in Communications since 2011, and before that was in Washington DC where she worked at the White House and in the United States Senate. Jill also owns a (working!) Nintendo 64, loves 80s music, and is a grammar nerd whose love for the Oxford comma will never die.
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“BYOSC: Bring Your Own Stem Cells” by Ramsey Najm
Have you ever wondered how your years of partying and general debauchery have damaged your organs? What if we can do something about all of the damage we have done—and might continue to do—to our brain, liver, and other organs? What if we can extend human life indefinitely? With recent research into stem cell technology and regenerative medicine, we can start asking these kinds of questions. This talk will give you a glimpse into the potential of stem cell based therapies to repair the brain and other tissues damaged by disease, lifestyle, and aging in general—and hopefully by the end you’ll feel slightly more immortal.
Ramsey Najm is a graduate student at the Gladstone Institutes and UCSF. He is studying how to utilize stem cell technology to regenerate cognitive function in Alzheimer’s disease. He suggests that you not waste time trying to save your existing neurons. Just put new ones in.
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“The Fate of the Universe (spoiler: everyone is going to die)” by Jessica Kirkpatrick
Will the universe end in a fiery implosion or expand forever until even the nearest star is too far away for us to see? We’ll learn how cosmologists are determining the fate of the universe using telescope data.
Dr. Jessica Kirkpatrick earned a PhD in Astrophysics from UC Berkeley where she studied some of the most distant and brightest known objects in the universe, quasars, and worked with large and complex data sets. She now works as a Data Scientist for Hired.com. Instead of spending her days finding patterns in the structure of the universe, she spends them finding patterns in the behaviors of people in order to help everyone find the job they love.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Food: Cross Hatch Eatery serves up delicious hot bao buns!
Plus: The San Francisco Department of Elections will get get you registered to vote, sign up poll workers, and answer all your queries about voting.
Wednesday, 12/16/15
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets available here
Video art, ants, and brain stimulation while under the influence of alcohol sounds like a crazy new modified Ludovico technique, but no, it’s just another Wednesday at Nerd Nite SF! Come out for these three fascinating talks, plus music, drinks, food, librarians, and your fellow nerds. Be there and be square!
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“Headswitch and the Angry Half-Inch: The History, Technology, Art, and Preservation of ½” Open Reel Video” by Kelly Haydon
The first widely popular video format, ½” open reel video was introduced in the late 60s and quickly adopted by artists looking for a new medium and activists looking to hijack TV airwaves. Obsolete for over 40 years and rapidly deteriorating, works on ½” open reel are rarely seen today, though efforts to digitize and preserve the material are ongoing. Learn the short and electric history of ½” open reel video – the technology, the major players, and how preservationists are battling “sticky shed syndrome” and the extinction of deck repair guys. Bonus: a mini-screening of ½” open reel video art.
Kelly Haydon is a video preservationist at Bay Area Video Coalition with a couple of schmancy degrees. She occasionally goes to TRX classes.
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“Ants: The Invisible Majority” by Brian Fisher
Shakespeare once wrote, “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” What they lack in size, ants more than make up for in numbers, and they offer countless behaviors to explore. Ants are Earth’s first farmers and shepherds, they engineer floating pontoons and enslave other ants, and their combined weight actually equals humanity’s. Yet despite all these intriguing facts, we mostly ignore this global community of ants beneath our feet… except when they enter our kitchens uninvited.
Brian Fisher is an ant specialist and Curator of Entomology at the California Academy of Sciences. He discovers and documents global ant diversity for conservation action. Founder of AntWeb.org and discoverer of 1000+ new species (including the vampire, trap jaw, and “cliff-jumping” ant), you can follow his pheromone on Twitter at @ant_explorer!
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“Using Electromagnetic Fields to Overclock Your Brain” by Ted Zanto
Your brain sucks and it’s only getting worse with age. You’re getting pwned by n00bs. You want to crank up your awesome but adderall and cocaine isn’t cutting it anymore. Isn’t there something else you can do? Maybe! Recent years have seen an exponential increase in the use of electromagnetic fields trying to enhance brain function, but should you really zap your brain? This talk will give you the low-down on non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Armed with this information, you can decide for yourself!
Ted Zanto is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at UCSF. It is his professional opinion that using electromagnetic fields to overclock your brain is nowhere near as fun as using alcohol to underclock your brain.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Food: Delicious hot goop between crispy slices of bread, brought to you by the scientist of the sammie, Grilled Cheese Guy.
Plus: The San Francisco Public Library will be on hand to dole out library cards, reading lists, and the hottest branch gossip.
Wednesday, 11/18/2015
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets!
Should you elect to come to Nerd Nite this month, we guarantee – cross our quackish little hearts – that you’ll come away cured of a certain amount of ignorance. Now, isn’t that something to be thankful for? Join a speed obsessive, PR flack, a medical historian, a vinyl-spinner, some bad-ass librarians, the gracious Rickshavians, and your humble co-bosses: Be there and be square!
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“Hypervelocity Launchers: How to Launch a Projectile at 10 Miles/Second? (That’s right, per second!)” by Vincent Tanguay
From bows and arrows to rail guns, man has been perfecting tools to launch projectiles at ever greater speeds for tens of thousands of years. Launching projectiles at hypervelocity is routine today and these launchers are very useful for science. While they have enabled major breakthroughs (think access to space), scientists always need more speed! We’ll discuss what hypervelocity is, its applications, and the various technologies that make it possible. Of course, we’ll talk about their limitations and how to push the frontier of possibilities. Somehow, we’ll manage to include some explosions in there – hopefully we get it right!
Vincent Tanguay, Ph.D., has a background in explosives and detonations and formerly worked as a scientist for a Canadian National Lab. When not busy blowing stuff up, he was developing an explosive-driven hypervelocity launcher.
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“A San Francisco Politicking Primer” by Alex Clemens
As you probably noticed, that election just happened. There’s another one in June, and one more (for President and other stuff!) in November 2016. Our town is undergoing a transformation, which is amazing and wonderful or wretched and incomprehensible, depending on where you stand. Alex will help put San Francisco’s current politics and policies in perspective, take your questions, and probably crash and burn in an overzealous attempt to be funny.
Alex is founder of Barbary Coast Consulting, a media talking head, PR flack, coalition builder, and lobbyist. He also lectures about ethical advocacy at USF, but without a Bulleit Rye in hand (sadly) because accreditation has rules. Ask him to recite “Jabberwocky.”
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“Why be Deaf? The Heyday of Fakes, Frauds, and Fads in Deafness Cures” by Jaipreet Virdi-Dhesi
What’s the difference between a quack with a scheme and a visionary with a theory? A finger in the ear. No, seriously. Finger surgery was one of many unregulated services promising a miraculous cure for hearing loss. Advertisements for galvanic belts or caps, artificial eardrums, vibrating massages, and special diets boasted that even incurable deafness could be corrected. Learn about the colorful history of deafness cures (the holy holies of quackery) and how audacious charlatans thrived by selling worthless courses of treatments or hearing devices, simply because any cure was better than none.
Jai is a historian of medicine based in Toronto who spends nearly all her free time on Twitter sharing images of weird and wacky medical histories.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Food: Delicious hot goop between crispy slices of bread, brought to you by the scientist of the sammie, Grilled Cheese Guy.
Plus: The San Francisco Public Library will be on hand to dole out library cards, reading lists, and the hottest branch gossip.