Nerd Nite Edmonton #80 comes crashing into April with another stellar roster of speakers. Come learn about AI (Machine Learning), how people get recruited into cults, and birds (including our favourite: owls).
When: Thursday, April 25th, at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks available all night!)
Where: Studio Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Matthew Dowling: First Sip of AI: An Introductory Brew to Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have been around for a long time. Some of the ideas behind the so called Deep Learning models were invented in the late 1950s. It wasn’t until late 2022 though, when ChatGPT was released, that the public really started to consciously use AI instead of it being something hidden from view. In this talk I want to give an intuitive understanding of how ML and AI are different from regular computer programs and share some of my experiences with developing ML applications and playing with it over the last few years.
I am currently a Senior Lead ML Developer at AltaML, an Applied Machine Learning company based in Edmonton. I have a PhD in particle physics from the University of Alberta and have been working in the ML community for the past 6 years. I’ve been with AltaML since day 1 and as a result have worked on a large variety of ML problems in various industries ranging from Finance and Insurance to Industrial Operations. Most recently I’ve been doing a lot of work with Large Language Models (like GPT) and Generative AI.
LinkedIn: Matthew Dowling
Twitter: @MLMatt_D
Heather Hutchinson: The Siren Song Remains the Same: Cult Recruitment Tactics and Rhetoric
In spite of the advances of the digital age, cults remain as popular as ever. Does social media make their recruiting methods different? Are they more dangerous now because of the internet? Communications renegade Heather Hutchinson will tell you all. Or at least some.
Heather Hutchinson is a recent graduate of MacEwan’s Professional Communications program. She is fascinated by rhetoric, persuasiveness, cults, true crime, and enjoys playing the ukulele and yelling at people on Twitter.
Web: hutchcomms.com
Jana Teefy: Beaverhill Bird Observatory, MOTUS, and owls of Alberta
The Beaverhill Bird Observatory has over 40 years of migration monitoring data, which we collect through standardized bird banding practices. I’ll talk about our research, population trends over time, our MOTUS research. I’ll touch on a few owls of Alberta and the threats to their populations.
My name is Jana Teefy (Jay-na Tee-fee), self declared bird nerd and Head Biologist of the Beaverhill Bird Observatory. I have been with the observatory for 4 years. I have an Environmental Sciences diploma from Lakeland College with a major in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation and was a veterinary nurse in my previous career.
Instagram: @jana_loves_adventure, @beaverhillbirds
Facebook: Beaverhill Bird Observatory-BBO
Please come in costume! We’ll have a costume contest in addition to a quiz this month. Bonus points for nerdiness. We will be releasing our speaker info during the month, but tickets are available right now.
When: Thursday October 26th, 2023, at 7:30 pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks available all night!)
Where: The Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Zita Dube-Lockhart: Let’s Talk About Stress, Baby!
A crash course on how to get your body out of crisis and practice safe stress! Learn why “work/life balance” doesn’t really work, why yoga might cause you anxiety, and how a little play every day keeps the doctor away!
If there’s one thing Zita knows, it’s stress! As an award winning personal trainer, co-owner of Action Potential Fitness, one of Edmonton top fitness studios, Executive Director of the Centre For Trauma Informed Fitness, and a full time Master’s in Counselling Psychology student specializing in the science of motivation, she definitely has her hands full… and that is when she isn’t busy with her actual job of helping with homework, wiping off runny noses, and engaging in the very serious work of Sunday Morning Snuggles. She spends every free minute she has preaching about the power of social belonging, self-acceptance, and radical embodiment in healing the body, the mind, and society as a whole.
Action Potential Fitness – Facebook
@zita.dubelockhart – Instagram
@actionpotentialfitness – Instagram
Iain Gillis: Decoding Encoding: an introduction to the Text Encoding Initiative
You probably already encounter Google Maps, Microsoft Office documents, and Scalable Vector Graphics several times a day. Besides ubiquity, they have another thing in common: XML, or eXtensible Markup Language. You’re less likely to have worked with TEI, another XML “flavour” that’s used in mostly humanities projects and has been around for nearly 40 years! Get a quick history lesson and a crash course in tags, schemas; learn what it means to be well-formed and valid; and be introduced to some snazzy resources on the web that are powered by TEI markup, from Shakespeare to Banksy!
Iain Gillis is a Senior Open Data Analyst based in Edmonton whose expertise spans from data systems to humanities and musicology. Iain has been recognized by NorQuest College as an Inclusive Leader for his work as a mentor in the Autism CanTech! program and nominated for a Cultural Commitments Award in the Helpful category by his peers at the City of Edmonton. He has presented over the years on many topics, including reproducible pseudorandom sampling and complexity management for advanced text search in Tableau dashboards at the Edmonton Tableau Users Group, and presenting his musicological research in Canada and abroad, reflecting his past life as humanities scholar.
@opendataedm – The site formerly known as Twitter
Ilan Domnich: Amazing Ant Abilities
For such small creatures, ants are capable of some incredible things. We will dive into why ants are so diverse and some of their amazing behaviours and adaptations.
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.
@crude_organism – Instagram
Welcome back! We’re kicking off the Fall Nerd Nite lineup with talks about sex-linked inheritance, photography, and Robert’s Rules.
When: Thursday September 28th, 2023, at 7:30 pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks and snacks available all night!)
Where: The Lobby at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Adrien Veczan: Visual Arts: Painting & Photography
Adrien will explore how the invention of photography disrupted the art world; how photography tried but failed to render painting obsolete, and what each medium can learn from the other.
Adrien Veczan is a photographer best known for his large-scale productions and expert use of complex lighting.
His career started with an internship at the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia, after which he joined the Toronto Star and later the Canadian Press. Adrien has worked for Reuters, the Globe and Mail, USA Today. His photos have been published in the Guardian, the Washington Post and the New York Times. His job has given him access to countless icons including Robert De Niro, LeBron James and Queen Elizabeth II.
Adrien’s elegant, thoughtful advertising photography has reached millions of eyes on billboards and magazines ranging from Wired to Playboy and from People to The Economist. Advertising agencies turn to Adrien knowing even their most challenging projects will be executed smoothly.
Between campaigns, Adrien enjoys working on fine art projects that allow him to experiment and develop new techniques. His series Telephone took him to four continents and revealed the evolution of the device in a groundbreaking way. In 2017, his first solo exhibition in Alberta, Whyte Avenue, showcased the historic and eclectic Edmonton neighbourhood. In 2021 Intermission, an exhibition based on Edward Hopper composition, premiered at the Saddlery Gallery.
www.veczan.com – Web
@veczan – Instagram
Amanda Henry: Better Meetings: Or I How Learned How to Stop Worrying about Robert’s Rules of Order
We spend a lot of time in meetings, and almost as much time grumbling about what a painful experience it is. You’ve probably been in a meeting that used Robert’s Rules of Order, but…it probably wasn’t being used correctly. We’ll explore what Robert’s Rules of Order are, how to use them better, and an argument in favour of a better way to run modern meetings.
Amanda is a versatile strategic planner, researcher, writer, and facilitator, though she has a tough time in rooms that don’t get Star Trek references. She has facilitated dozens of workshops and meetings around Edmonton on topics in governance, strategic planning, and other tools and tactics that help non-profit boards get where they want to go. She was a governance nerd before it was cool.
@amjhenry – Instagram
@amjhenry – Threads
Dr. Kate St. Onge: Sex-Linked Inheritance
Dr. Kate St.Onge is currently a lecturer in the department of biology sciences at the University of Alberta. She teaches in the areas of genetics, evolution and botany. She completed her PhD at Uppsala University in Sweden but Edmonton is her home town. Outside of work, she is a big fan of true crime podcasts!
