At our November show, you’ll see talks on Mars rovers, how Taproot Edmonton helps foster community interest, and the way things used to be… in alternate universes.
When: Thursday, November 27th at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Mack Male — When Curiosity Meets Code: Building the Taproot Survey
What if civic curiosity could be translated into algorithms? Let’s unpack how Taproot Edmonton turned voter questions and candidate answers into data-driven connections that helped thousands of Edmontonians find their match at the ballot box. Along the way, we’ll explore the patterns the data revealed and the lessons we learned from building it.
Mack is the co-founder and CEO of Taproot Publishing which helps communities understand themselves better. The company’s flagship digital news outlet is Taproot Edmonton. Prior to becoming an entrepreneurial journalist, Mack spent more than a decade working in software development.
How student led clubs are essential in impacting and shaping the future of the space industry. We’ll dive into how our own club, SPEAR functions and nurture industry ready talents. We’ll also explore how student led clubs like ours promote curiosity around space as well!
SPEAR (Space Exploration Alberta Robotics) is an engineering club at the University of Alberta focused on designing and building Mars-style rovers for space-inspired competitions. Composed of students across various engineering disciplines, SPEAR takes part in international competitions like the Canadian International Rover Challenge (CIRC) and the University Rover Challenge (URC). Through hands-on experience, collaboration, and innovation, the team works on real-world engineering challenges, contributing to advancements in robotics and representing the University of Alberta on the international stage.
For more than two thousand years, authors have been looking back on the past and asking themselves “could history have happened otherwise?” But it’s only in the past few decades that alohistorical musings have been recognized as their own genre. Let’s look at what’s commonly called Alternate History.
Olav Rokne is a six-time Hugo shortlisted blogger and since 2019 has served on the jury of the Sidewise Award for Alternate History literature.
Nerd Nite Edmonton is back for spooky season. Come join us for drinks and spooky merriment. Come show off your costume and you could win tickets! Hear about AI horror, creepy crawlies, and a third mystery topic the night before Halloween.
When: Thursday, Oct 30th, at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Studio Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Bree Taylor — When The Flesh Mask Slips: Analog Horror and Artificial Intelligence
Horror reflects the anxieties and fears of the context in which it was written. Analog Horror, an emerging sub genre online, has risen in popularity with increasing usage of generative AI. This talk will illustrate the ways in which AI models like ChatGPT play on our fears around nostalgia, relationships, and entities that seem human – but something isn’t quite right.
Bree Taylor is a queer settler, writer, and poet living on Treaty 6 territory. She earned her B.A. from the University of Alberta, where they won the L. June Kelly Prize in Introductory Poetry. In 2022, they were a finalist for the Dell Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, and in 2025 they were the recipient of the UBC Peliplat Prize. Their fiction has appeared in Quagmire Magazine and Polymorphic. Bree is pursuing her MFA at the University of British Columbia, where she is writing a queer horror novella as her thesis.
In his own words, “all of my favourite bugs are the most horrific ones”, so sit down and hear about terrifying creepy crawlies from an honest-to-goodness learned entomologist.
Ilan Domnich is an entomologist finishing his Master’s at the University of Alberta. When not outside looking at bugs, Ilan can be found at home working on his art and caring for his many plants and animals. He is also a Nerd Nite veteran who has entertained attendees before with his infectious (insectious?) charm.
Ethan Zapach — Growing and Breeding Mushrooms at Home + Helpful Tips to Avoid a Zombie Apocalypse
Bring your nitrile gloves, 70% isopropyl alcohol, and a smile, because we’re heading down the rabbit hole of home mycology! Growing mushrooms at home can provide you with a hack for seemingly unlimited extra food, a wide variety of medicine, or a one-on-one visit with your creator. After you talk to God, you can try role playing as your new friend by breeding novel mushroom strains – just be sure to close the door to your lab before something gets out…
Ethan Zapach is an amateur mycologist and a Director for the Alberta Mycological Society. He spends as much time as he can out in the woods looking for obscure mushrooms to add to his collection and attempt to cultivate indoors. Ethan currently lives in Athabasca, working in science communications and environmental restoration. He also makes freelance documentaries, educational content, and mycology-related videos that can be found on his YouTube channel.
Our May lineup brings some all-new subjects: weather reporting, how your medical data gets accessed, and making your own sake. Come join us for another three great talks!
When: Thursday, May 29th, at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Sake is a misunderstood and underrated beverage that has deep traditional roots in Asia, but an exciting emerging community in the rest of the world. We’ll discuss how sake is made and how it can be done at home.
Amanda is a proud member of the Sake Brewer’s Guild and had been fermenting at the home-artisanal level for several years. She embraced being a “jack of all trades, master of none” – the learning process is her favourite part of any of her many interests.
Laura will take us on a whirlwind tour through the evolution of weather monitoring in Canada! Discover how cutting-edge sensors have transformed weather tracking and supported environmental research. We’ll explore diverse applications like fire weather, climate change research, and national meteorological services, along with the intricate networks developed across Canada. This talk promises to blend history, innovation, and practical insights for a deeper appreciation of weather science.
Meet Laura, the ultimate weather enthusiast! Her passion for meteorology sparked at age 9 during a school weather unit and an unforgettable field trip to the Weather Network. With a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a major in Atmospheric Science, Laura forecasted a future as a meteorologist. However, the winds shifted and took her on a different path into environmental monitoring, and she hasn’t looked back since. She now spends her days supporting researchers, government agencies, and industries by designing, selling, and teaching about advanced weather stations. She spends her nights looking out the window, waiting for the next storm to roll in.
Brechin Piper: Consent-Based Access Control and Healthcare Data
Ever wonder why your Doctor can’t see your healthcare data from another province or country? Or why your Physio doesn’t have access to any of your relevant health info? Join Brechin as he shares an overview of his graduate capstone that proposes a solution to put you in charge of your healthcare data.
Brechin Piper has a Bachelor’s of Computer Science from the Royal Military College of Canada and a Master’s of Information Systems Security Management from Concordia University of Edmonton. He served as a Signals Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces for 15 years and occasionally lectures at Concordia University of Edmonton. When he’s not ranting about why you shouldn’t keep reusing that one password you made in junior high for all of your accounts, he can be found with his crime solving dogs Sherlock and Watson, or frantically searching for his missing D4 before he steps on it.
