Nerd Nite Houston

Just a hair over one week out and we’re all set for the first Nerd Nite Houston of 2015 to kick off. Same deal as last year: Last Thursday of the month, Notsuoh’s bar downtown at 8:00, no entry fee, awesome presenters. This month we have speakers covering topics on Russian history, ultra-short timescale observation, and the highlights of being a professional student.

Russian History – Colin Allen was out before and gave an enjoyable talk on cultural quirks and oddities of historical Russia. We are glad to have him back out again to talk further about material he wasn’t able to cover last time and answer all the questions you may have about what makes Russia, well, Russia. Colin is a graduate in European History from University of North Texas with a focus on Russia, Germany and the 20th century.

Ultra-fast measurements – Dan Mittleman got his BS from MIT and his PhD from UC Berkeley. He’s been a member of the Rice faculty since 1996. His expertise is in ultrafast optics and its application to terahertz science and technology. The presentation will be entitled “A brief history of time resolution… or, why my entire PhD thesis contains only 0.00000000001 seconds worth of data.” In it, I will discuss the state of the art in time-resolved measurements: what is the fastest thing that humans can measure, how did we get to that point, and why did we bother?

Humorous Highlights: Professional Student – Andrew Guy (A. Guy [not a real name]) has been haphazardly stumbling through an engineering education for 7 years. He is currently in his 3rd year of PhD work and looking to graduate within the next two years before applying to medical schools. In this presentation he will remove all of the boring educational parts of that process and focus solely on the most hilarious missteps, lapses of judgment, and pure accidents from selecting an undergrad program to the 3rd year of a PhD. When he is not working in school, Andrew is a circus performer (juggler and aerial straps), long distance runner, and avid home chef. There is an inverse relationship between level of education and time for hobbies so by the time he does get job it’s very likely he will be unable to run, juggle or cook at all. Armed with this knowledge, Andrew is attempting to finish his PhD as slowly as possible.

We’ll see you this coming Thursday, the 29th. Be there and be²

It’s the second ever Nerd Nite Houston! We have an amazing lineup for you. In the news, the charity date auction will be postponed until March as we’re still looking, but here are our amazing speakers!

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“Simplified Dating,” by Harris O’Malley (aka Dr. NerdLove)

Dating can be a frustrating, confusing mess…but it doesn’t have to be. It’s time to treat dating is a skill, not as a mysterious process. By stripping dating to it’s core essentials, we can make dating a simpler, more enjoyable experience. (Yes, we stole him from Austin, muahahahaha, he is awesome).

Harris O’Malley is a blogger and dating coach who teaches nerds how to date better at his website Paging Dr. NerdLove.

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“”Behind the screens: How online dating algorithms have redefined romance,” by Anna Jarman

Anna studied psychology and biology at Rice University, and, desperately seeking some practical application of this, started researching online dating. Anna will discuss how online services have changed the romantic landscape and the empirical and theoretical basis for matchmaking alogrithms.

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“Blink if you want me: Nonverbal Signs of Arousal and Attraction,” by Chase Hughes

Chase Hughes has been involved with development, research and training in psychological studies since 1999. He regularly speaks at universities and trains US Federal Law Enforcement agencies, Intelligence Agencies and dozens of state and local criminal investigation units.

His areas of specific expertise are in advanced body language, deception detection, covert hypnosis, interrogation and behavioral engineering. He has been the keynote speaker at universities covering topics from mind control and brainwashing to hypnotherapy.

Chase earned his Master’s Degree in Behavioral Psychology in 2006 and has published two books on behavioral science and behavioral profiling. He has been in the US Military for 15 years and is still on active duty. His assignments and training have provided him a chance to work at Guantanamo Bay, Pearl Harbor NCIS and numerous interrogation sites around the globe. His behavioral profiling system is currently in use by the US Government and was developed for CIA field operatives in 2012.

Remember! Doors open at 7:30 pm, the show starts at 8:00 pm!

The Nerd Nite Houston co-bosses were inundated with enthusiasm at our first ever Nerd Nite for volunteers! We received all sorts of questions from people asking about bigger venues, how they can help with potential future Nerd Nite events (Ambassador program, Speed Dating, etc, etc), and how they can sign up to speak. Well, right now, as we’re building our Nerd Nite Houston group, we would love to hear from you!

So what do you need to do to let us know you’re interested in helping? Please fill out our CONTACT form and put in what you’d like to do that way it can be kept track of through the magic of google docs.

What are we looking for right now? We’re looking for speakers! If you want to speak at a future Nerd Nite, send us a pitch and we’ll be in touch promptly! Also, come by and say hi on our facebook group or get our attention on our twitter @nerdnitehouston.

Be there and be square!

Something Science This Way Comes was a success! In our first ever Nerd Nite, we had almost one hundred people fill up our venue of Notsuoh. Who were our speakers?

The night opened up with Andy Boyd, one of the contributors of Engines of Our Ingenuity with his talk entitled… Why Voting Mechanisms Can’t Work

Afterwards, our co-boss, Amado Guloy, gave a brief intro to superspace crystallography with…Why I Hate Ellipsoids and How Superspace Saved Me

And the night was closed out by Prof. Douglas Natelson with…Presenting Science to the Public: “It’s late; we’re all tired; why should any of us care about anything you’re saying?”

All in all, it was a success, and even then, we were able to get special shoutouts from our speakers both on Engines of Our Ingenuity and on Prof. Natelson’s blog, Nanoscale Views! We look forward to seeing y’all for Nerd Nite Houston #2 in February, with Love is in the Air!

Engines of Our Ingenuity Episode 2926 – The Etymology of the Word Nerd

Prof. Natelson’s Blog – Nanoscale Views – Science and Public Outreach