What does speed reading, atmospheric chemistry and organ transplant legal controversies have in common? They’re all topics at Nerd Nite #25! We’re hosting a slightly-larger-than-normal Nerd Nite as our regular space at the Citadel isn’t available. So we’re bringing the Nite to the TELUS World of Science.

Be there AND be square!

When: Monday, February 29, 2016 (doors @ 7:30pm, show @ 8pm)
Where: Kinetic Hall (TELUS World of Science, 11211 142 St NW Edmonton)
$20 in advance (includes fees and GST) — on sale Feb 1 at 9:30am SOLD OUT!
[Children 17 & Under Will Not Be Admitted]

Here’s our line-up of speakers:

Nerdy Superpower: Speedreading
Liz Hay

Have you ever wanted a superpower? Have you wanted to be able to finally finish your TBR (to be read) pile and still talk to your family/ kids/ friends? Do you want to read all the books? If you have ever been curious about speedreading and how it works, now is your chance. Using basic principles of speedreading, you will be guided through the first steps of unlearning your old reading habits and relearning a new approach to reading and comprehension. Bring an open mind and your questions!

Liz Hay has a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema Studies from the University of British Columbia and has always loved writing, reading, travelling and volunteering. She has facilitated classes on academic integrity, non-profit board governance, and is strangely more comfortable in front of a large group of people than she is at a party. Currently, you will find her working to support the Art and Design Department at MacEwan University, volunteering at Metro Cinema and completing her Web Design and Development certificate also from MacEwan University.

Payment for organs? Legal and ethical limits on strategies to increase organ donation
Maeghan Toews

Hundreds of Canadians die each year waiting for lifesaving organs. Although our donation rates have increased in recent years, there are still not enough donated organs to meet this need. Various strategies to increase donation are being discussed in policy and academic circles (e.g., changing our consent framework, or financially incentivizing donation), and this talk will explore some of these strategies and their ethical and legal limits in the context of our current donation system.

Maeghan Toews is a Research Associate at the Health Law Institute in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include examining the legal and ethical issues associated with genetics and genomics, organ donation and transplantation, rare diseases, and biomedical research. Prior to joining the Health Law Institute, Maeghan received her B.A. from the University of Western Ontario, her JD from the University of Toronto and spent several years as a commercial litigator in private practice. She then pursued her graduate work at Leiden University where she graduated cum laude and received her LL.M in public international law. Maeghan currently sits on the University of Alberta’s Biomedical Research Ethics Board, the University of Alberta Hospital’s Clinical Ethics Committee, and is teaching “Law and Medicine” at the Faculty of Law.

Dust: The Little Particle That Could
Sarah Styler

Over a billion tons of dust are emitted into the atmosphere each year from desert regions in Africa and Central Asia. Once emitted, dust particles can be transported around the world. During their travels, they promote cloud formation, fertilize oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems, and influence air quality in cities. I’ll talk about how and why these small particles have an outsize influence on our climate and health, and about how we can make and study dust in the lab.

Sarah’s undergraduate and graduate studies in environmental and atmospheric chemistry at the University of Toronto were punctuated by two somewhat eclectic breaks, in which she worked in community fundraising and investigated the adverse effects of long-term storage on paintings and sculptures. After graduation, Sarah undertook a postdoc in Leipzig, Germany, where she studied the role that urban surfaces play in mediating urban air quality and collected more than an apartment’s worth of East German furniture. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta, where her group’s research focuses on chemistry and photochemistry in polluted and dust-influenced urban environments.