Join us as we mark the 1052nd anniversary of the Byzantine conquest of Chandax! That interesting fact will not be discussed at Nerd Nite 11, but there’ll be plenty of delicious knowledge morsels that you won’t want to miss from our three great presenters. 

When: March 6, 2014 (doors @ 7:30p, show @ 8)
Where: The Club (Citadel Theatre, 9828-101A Avenue Edmonton)
$15 in advance (TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE SOLD OUT)
$18 at the door
[Children 17 & Under Will Not Be Admitted]

Cold Rock: the northern kind, not the ice cream kind
David Dockman

We all know that Canada is very well endowed-geographically-but it is way bigger than you would think. The northern tip of Canada, on Ellesmere Island, is a mere 769km from the north pole. From Edmonton, Canada’s most northern point is as distant as Havana, Cuba, is to the south! Join David on geologic adventure from magma generation deep within the earth to the sample collection of ancient volcanic eruptions on the beautifully barren Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. An island that survived being torn asunder when the earth decided that Russia and Canada were being naughty and needed to be separated by a little thing called the Arctic Ocean. That all sounds pretty flashy, but the real fun begins back in the lab, where geochemists wage war against crustal contamination, scrutinize rocks under microscopes, and, yes, even satisfy the geological architype by beating rocks with hammers.

Bio: Dave grew up in Airdrie, AB, where there are no rocks. He loved the Rockies and the Tyrell Museum as much as any self-respecting Albertan youngster, but followed the Engineering family tradition rather than a geological one. A die hard UofA student since 2004, Dave took the path that most struggling engineering students take by joining the Geology program! Finding it much more hands on and adventurous (who likes cantilevers and moments of inertia anyway?!). His geological passions have taken him to Alaska, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, Northern BC, and even Hawaii’s active lava lake, Halema’u’ma’u. Dave is currently taking a Masters in Geochemistry at the University of Alberta. His friends won’t help him move anymore because every geologist picks up rocks as souvenirs.

Subtractive Synthesis
Marc-Julien Objois

Even if you haven’t heard of subtractive synthesis, you’ve definitely heard it. If a tune incorporates a synthesizer, chances are good that those synthesizers use certain basic waveforms and subtract frequencies in different ways to create interesting sounds. What do these waveforms look like? How do they sound, and how do they get bent and twisted into the music you love? You’ll have a chance to Name That Tune by identifying a song from its bass or lead synth line, and to Test Your Might by identifying the waveforms used in well-known hits.

Bio: Marc-Julien Objois is a bona fide hallway-tripping, thick-glasses-wearing, science-class-loving, French-Horn-playing nerd. His appreciation for science was shaped by a love of shows like Wonderstruck (by Bob McDonald), magic, electronic music instruments, and an insatiable need to know how things work. Armed with a Computer Engineering degree from the University of Alberta, he became a software developer, and in his spare time continued to explore the world of electronic music, had a brief life on stage with Rapid Fire Theatre, then switched from making music to photography because he’s actually good at that. Nerd credentials include being the President of the Greater Edmonton Skeptics Society and putting on the yearly science conference, LogiCON.

Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
Julielynn Wong

Star Trek Replicators, in the form of 3D printers, are here! NASA is planning on launching the first 3D printer in space this year. The European Space Agency’s AMAZE Project aims to develop the first metal 3D printer for space missions. Unleash your inner designer and discover how 3D printers are revolutionizing space travel and life here on Earth.

Bio: Julielynn Wong, MD, MPH, is a Harvard-educated, award-winning physician, scientist, and journalist. Dr. Wong is an academic lecturer at the University of Alberta and served on faculty at Singularity University where she taught design and 3D printing workshops through the Autodesk Innovation Lab. She was selected to train in space medicine at NASA Johnson Space Center and has tested 3D printers in 0-g. Miss Wong has reported for ABC World News, is a blog contributor to Forbes and the Huffington Post, and made numerous television appearances, including an Emmy-nominated series on Discovery Channel. Dr. Wong is a graduate of Queen’s University School of Medicine and is a recipient of the Harvard University Knox Fellowship, the Aerospace Medical Association Young Investigator Award, and the Canadian Medical Association Award for Young Leaders.