Nerd Nite Philly

We are having a bonus Nerd Nite at PHS Pop-Up Garden South Street! Joining us for this evening of outdoor nerdery will be:

Corey McMillan with “Turning Down the Volume on ALS”

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or “Lou Gerhig’s Disease”, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that impacts an individuals’ ability to move and results in a 2-5 year survival from disease onset. In the past decade a considerable amount of knowledge has been gained about the pathology and genetics that causes ALS. However, there still is not treatment for ALA and little is known about the factors that influence heterogeneity in survival time and disease severity. In this talk I will introduce the idea of “epigenetics” — a fancy word that involves turning down the volume on bad genes — and talk about the evidence suggesting that epigenetics may provide a candidate treatment for ALS.

Dr. Corey McMillan is a Research Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Group and Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. McMillan holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Temple University, a masters of science in Psycholinguistics from the University of Edinburgh, and a Ph.D in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh.

Josh Raclaw with “Language attitudes: How accents can be sexy, impressive, or literally the worst”

We all place different values on the ways that we, and others, use language. A Southern accent might make us weak in the knees, or we may think we know a lot about a person just from the way they say the word “water’. But why? In this talk we’ll look at the science behind language attitudes, the term that linguists use to describe our common understanding of different accents and other features of a language. Come prepared to look at the language of wartime cartoons, learn the truth about our perception of “foreign accents,” and raise a glass to the diversity of English dialects.

Joshua Raclaw is a linguist and assistant professor of English at West Chester University. His current research examines how scientists use language and gesture in their evaluation of high-stakes grant applications. He’s also interested in how language helps construct our relationships and identities and how new technology changes how we communicate with one another, and one time he wrote over two-hundred pages on the word ‘no’. In his spare time he enjoys sitting in front of his air conditioner and spending quality time with his wife, cats, and beloved Netflix account.

Alexis Jeffcoat with “When M.A.S.H. Meets 17th Century Astrology”

Will you marry a handsome drunk? Will you be rich as Croesus or have twelve kids? Fortune telling games were not just the staple of many a 90’s childhood. Find out what happens when silly fortunes get mixed up with Greek mythology, 17th century astrology, and early programming to give you the strangest version of M.A.S.H you’ve ever seen.

Alexis is a huge history nerd who loves playing Dungeon and Dragons and enjoys being blinded by science in her position managing public programming for the Chemical Heritage Foundation. An active part of the geek community, Alexis can be found collaborating on projects like Science on Tap and the Philadelphia Science Festival.

PLUS! Be sure to wear your nerdiest T-shirt so that you can participate in the Nerd Nite Philadelphia Dry T-Shirt Contest.

The details:
Tuesday, August 23rd

7:30 pm. $5

See you there!

Here’s the lineup for this first August Nerd Nite:

Kelly McCarthy with “Mapping the Arctic from 1500 Feet: A Glimpse into our Changing Earth”

The Arctic, known for its pristine beauty and terrifying isolation, largely unoccupied by humankind, is one of the most sensitive and telling regions of our dynamic Earth. But without setting foot in most of its great expanse how can we understand exactly how it is changing? NASA’s Operation IceBridge uses remote sensing methods from aboard an airborne laboratory to collect data on the thickness, depth, and movement of ice features in the Arctic and Antarctica. Fly along with PolarTREC teacher Kelly McCarthy on the largest airborne survey of Earth’s polar ice ever conducted to learn about how this critical data is collected, life in the field during an airborne Arctic campaign, and the implications of the data acquired from this extensive operation.

About Kelly: Kelly McCarthy has been a science educator in Pennsylvania for the past eight years. With a background in physics and enthusiasm for NASA’s airborne and space science programs, she is passionate about making STEM accessible and exciting for all students. As a 2016 PolarTREC teacher, Kelly worked in the field with NASA’s Operation IceBridge during their 2016 Arctic Campaign in Greenland and recognizes the importance of sharing the processes, science, and implications behind the work this team does year after year.

Katie Bohri with “Smoking Grass for the Environment – Managing native grasslands with fire”

How to maintain a grassland environment: Add fire to it! Each spring land managers across the country set prescribed burns to grassland environments. These fires maintain the health of habitats. Katie Bohri talks about the how and whys of prescribed burns.

About Katie: Katie Bohri works for Mt. Cuba Center, a botanical garden that focuses on native plants and the habitats that sustain them, where she is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator.

Kae Lani Kennedy with “The Secret Life of Beanie Babies”

The Beanie Baby craze is one of the most talked about trends of the 1990’s, with Ty Warner being hailed as one of the decade’s most brilliant businessmen. But was Ty Inc.’s success really the result of a well-run company with a genius marketing strategy? Explore how Chicago soccer moms, the rise of a secondary investment market, and the dawn of the Dot Com, all puppeteered by a mad man, turned $5 under-stuffed plush dolls into one of the strangest market bubbles of the 20th century.

About Kae Lani: Kae Lani is a travel writer and photographer whose global exploits are guided primarily by food. She and her partner, Jon, run Foodful Thinking — a site where thousands tune into to watch broadcasts about nostalgic food brands, weird dishes, and anything foodie culture. Kae Lani is also a media historian, an economics nerd, and a trends enthusiast. Recently, she’s been putting her Business degree to work, analyzing and profiling one of the most perplexing multi-billion dollar companies to grace the 90’s: Ty Inc.

PLUS! Music by Pixel8ter!

The details:
Doors open at 4pm. Show at 7:30pm. We recommend you get there early to ensure getting a good seat!
$5
Wednesday, August 3rd
Frankford Hall
1210 Frankford Avenue

We are having a bonus Nerd Nite at The Rail Park! Joining us for this evening of outdoor nerdery will be:

Michael Garden from Friends of the Rail Park will present “The Rail Park: Beyond the Viaduct”

Rhyan Grech from Audubon Pennsylvania giving a talk entitled “Saving Birds Through Healthy Watersheds”

Ariell Johnson from Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse will spotlight 10 geeky suggestions for things you should be into.

PLUS! Be sure to wear your nerdiest T-shirt so that you can participate in the first-ever Nerd Nite Philadelphia Dry T-Shirt Contest.

The details:
Wednesday, July 20th

7:30 pm. $5

See you there!

Here’s the lineup for this first July Nerd Nite:

Anita Davidson, “Proposed SEPTA North-South Route 49”

It’s time for another Nerd Nite! Here’s what we have planned for you:

Sophia Seifert, “Plant Intelligence”

Plants are the oldest and most massive organisms on earth. However, our chlorophyll-filled friends are able to do much more than just grow big and old: they can communicate, share, and even remember. We will explore some of the amazing things that the earliest land-dwellers can do and, in the process, challenge what it means to be intelligent.

BIO: Sophia has spent the better part of the last decade as a science teacher in Philadelphia’s public and charter schools. While in the classroom, she wrote and delivered an interdisciplinary middle school curriculum called Science and Society that explored everything from the neuroscience of mindfulness to (you guessed it) organic gardening and food security. These days, Sophia works at the Philadelphia School Partnership supporting collaboration between schools and at Penn Graduate School of Education training new science teachers.

Ritama Gupta, “White Blood Cells and Red Blood Cells : A Love Story”

A type of white blood cell called Macrophages have long been revered in the scientific world as superhuman defenders of the body. They eat up germs that invade us and keep us healthy. But recent research reveals a new identity for these cells. Macrophages are also essential for red blood cells, the cells that carry oxygen in your body. We dug deeper and looked into the genome of these cells. Turns out the genes are telling an interesting story, and we’re listening.

BIO: Ritama is currently pursuing her PhD in Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. She recently moved with her lab to the department of Hematology of the Children’s hospital of Philadelphia at University of Pennsylvania. A lot of her research is primarily on mice, investigating hematological disorders and sequencing the RNA of macrophages in these disorders. She always has her ear out for interesting hematological findings, and she will most definitely swap fun science stories for beer and some good old cider.

Tom Bryan, “Hey Mr. Ranger!”

Pennsylvania Park Ranger Tom Bryan will discuss how to become a ranger, various aspects of the job, and provide lots of anecdotes of daily life on duty.

BIO: Tom Bryan has worked as a ranger for 10 years at the federal and county levels.  He began his career as a visitor use assistant at Hopewell Furnace and Valley Forge national historic sites.  He is currently working for Montgomery County Parks, Trails and Historic sites as a Ranger. He holds current lethal weapons, boating, outdoor education, FEMA and wildland firefighting certifications.

Plus: Entertainment (and evil!) from returning Nerd Nite favorite SKELETOR!

Doors open at 4pm. Show at 7:30pm. We recommend you get there early to ensure getting a good seat!

$5
Wednesday, June 1st
Frankford Hall
1210 Frankford Avenue

BE THERE AND BE SQUARE, YO