This is it, kids, the final Nerd Nite of the 2016/17 season. After this one, we take a break over the summer to enjoy that sweet, painfully hot Edmonton sun. But for just one more night, you can ignore the playoffs and learn something from passionate nerds who just want to share. Be there AND be square.

When: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 (show @ 8pm)
Where: The Needle Vinyl Tavern (10524 Jasper Avenue)
Tickets: on sale April 12 at 10pm at YegLive.ca
$20 in advance
$10 peanut gallery tickets
[Must be 18 years or older]

Our line-up of talks includes:

Life Lessons from a Bullshit Artist
Julian Faid

We’re all just making it up as we go along. Learn how the tenets of improvisation can help you in everyday life. Using a platform provided by sociologist Ervin Goffman’s social interaction theory “Dramaturgical model of social life”, get ready to listen to a talk that is sure to be more entertaining than this description. Because that’s a pretty low bar!

Julian Faid has been improvising for over 16 years. He has appeared in improv festivals in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and even the bustling metropolis of Regina. He has also represented Alberta at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington DC and was nominated for a New Zealand Comedy festival “Best Show” award. He is also the co-creator of TEDxRFT, the improvised Ted Talk, which won “Best of The Fest” at the Vancouver International Improv Festival 2015. Off stage, he works at the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta in marketing and communications.

The Art of Science and the Birth of Nanomedicine
Robert Burrell

Advances in science are usually the result of carefully planned experiments, their execution and analyses, but sometimes luck plays a significant role. Some of the world’s greatest discoveries were serendipity. In this talk we will look at some of those ‘lucky’ discoveries that have changed the course of mankind. We will start our voyage of discovery in merry old England in 1776 and move 200 years through time to 1996 in Edmonton, Alberta. This time frame will cover events from the greatest lifesaving technology of all time to the birth of nanomedicine and its promise for a better future.

Robert Burrell is a scientist innovator who is currently the chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alberta. Technologies he has developed include Acticoat dressings, the world’s first therapeutic application of nanotechnology. Acticoat has changed the lives of millions of people around the world. He has been recognized as a top Canadian innovator by the Governor General and the Manning Foundation.

Behind the Walls: Tales of Cooking Behind the Iron Curtain & under Michelin-stars
Doreen Prei

Have you ever wondered what is behind the wall in a restaurant kitchen, what you might find in a forest, or what your fish monger may bring to your kitchen door? Is it really so crazy hot with many long hours and too many drinks? Coming from East Germany, learning what food can do and how delicious it can be, is a story in and of itself. And while we’re at it, let’s do some nerdy cooking stuff because who can be still when talking about food!?!

A Michelin-star trained, award winning chef, Doreen has cooked in private restaurants and hotels in Germany, Ireland, and Canada. She completed her training in Berlin, Germany at First Floor Restaurant, before moving to Dublin where she cooked at the Four Seasons Hotel, Chapter One, and Gordon Ramsay at the Ritz Carlton. Now at Get Cooking, Doreen is teaching and finding new ingredients to cook with.