It’s NERD NITE A2 ALL OVER AGAIN! Do they ever stop? Yes, we are taking December off. Thank you so much for asking.
But before that, join us THURSDAY, November 9 at LIVE at 102. S. First St for the last NNA2 of 2023!! Doors open at 6:30 pm, talks start at 7 pm and as always, there’s no cover charge! Just bring a friend, grab a drink, and find a seat and we’ll wow with you the expertise of our amazing speaker lineup!
Microplastics are tiny bits of plastic no bigger than a pencil eraser, and they’re worryingly ubiquitous here on our little blue planet. We’ll take to the skies with Rebecca Parham in A Plastic Predicament: Are There Microplastics in the Air We Breathe? to better understand microplastics’ potential health impacts when inhaled, and who may be affected most.
Rebecca is a graduate student in the doctoral program at the University of Michigan’s Department of Chemistry and studies air quality from an atmospheric chemistry perspective. Some of her favorite pastimes are reading and hanging out at the library, doing anything outdoorsy, and dreaming of one day having a dog.
In the just-in-time department: Matthew Facciani will help us consider How to Have More Productive Political Conversations At Thanksgiving. He’ll share five strategies that may very well be worth magic-markering onto your arm for later ease of use… decide for yourself, but come prepared!
Matthew is a sociologist at the University of Notre Dame, where he studies political polarization, misinformation, and media literacy. His forthcoming book, Misguided, describes how our identities and personal networks impact our susceptibility to misinformation and what we can do about it.
Could the Nite get more unbelievable? How about a neuroscientist talking about saliva? Believe it! Deanna Cannizzaro will give us the Salivary Sensory Scoop: neurons and the salivary glands are intertwined. Deanna will dig into the unseen role of sensory neurons in these glands… with relish.
Deanna is a PhD candidate at U of M studying how sensory neurons influence the salivary glands to promote healthy saliva and protect the mouth from disease and deterioration. When not in the lab, you can find her reading, writing, or hiking with her husband and dog.
Whether or not you’re one of those people whose weekend starts on a Thursday, what better way to celebrate than with Nerd Nite: NOW ON THURSDAY NIGHTS (NITES?!?!)! That’s right! Amble over to LIVE (102 S. 1st Street) at 7pm on Thursday, October 12 for an excellent evening of Nerd Nite goodness and start that last part of your week off right!
First, Gregg Saldutti Jr. gets us situated with Finding Their Bearings: How to Google Your Way Through Geolocation. He’ll show us how to geo- and chrono-locate images using open-source tools and techniques—and also suggest why finding the when and the where of photos might be useful beyond just impressing your friends.
Gregg is a geographer, bike rider and computer nerd who can attribute most of his success (both personal and professional) to being good at internet searches.
Then we’ll find out How Germs Live to Fight Another Day from Achala Chittor. Do you know disease-causing bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment by modifying their trash chutes to expel antibiotics? Achala does, and she’ll teach us all about it!
Achala is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology department. She grew up in Portland, Oregon, and received her bachelor’s degree from Williams College in 2015 and her PhD from Harvard in 2021.
Things take a turn to the macabre (or will they?!) when Sexton Leif Laufeyarsen takes us through The Evolution of the Cemetery. Learn about the difference between a cemetery and the graveyard (did you even know there was one?) as Sexton takes us through the shift from graveyard to cemetery and some surprising activities that took place in those early cemeteries. He promises it won’t get (too) gross!
Leif has a degree in history and has presented at tours, museums, and cemeteries in South Eastern Michigan and South Eastern France. He has also been known to roam the countryside looking for lost cemeteries, usually with success.
The final weeks of summer may be upon us, but at least that means that we’ve reached the time for September’s Nerd Nite!!! Whether fall is in the air, or we’re getting the last dregs of a heat wave, LIVE on a Nerd Nite is always the coolest place to be! So put Wednesday, September 13 at 7pm in your calendar and meet us at LIVE (102 S. 1st Street)!
Have you heard of the Bonefish: Florida’s fish worth $3500 a year that NO ONE can eat? We hadn’t either, but luckily we’ve got John Heider to teach us all about Florida’s bonefish population, what makes them and their habitat unique and worth preserving, and how the purely recreational, catch-and-release fishery for the “Grey Ghost of the Flats” brings in an estimated half billion dollars a year for the Sunshine State.
John is a photojournalist, freelance writer, kayaker and fisher (sometimes both at once). He is the sole proprietor and owner of Ann Arbor’s only Confuse-A-Cat business.
Surabhi Balachander will take us on a journey of Reading the 50 states in 2023. Surabhi is intentionally reading a book about or set in each U.S. state, one book a week, going through the states in alphabetical order—as of now, she’s up to Nebraska! Surabhi will incorporate insights from her background as a scholar of multiethnic and rural American literature to discuss the goals of this project and focus on some of her favorites.
Surabhi is a PhD candidate in English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, where she studies rurality, race, and environment in American literature from 1920-2020. In her spare time, she reviews books and talks about how much she loves AADL on Instagram @surabhi.reading.
Modern depictions of Superman’s home planet are generally quite serious and sterile, but it wasn’t always that way. Scott Vertical is thrilled to share vibrant stories of The History of Krypton that have been unheard for generations!
Scott is the Morning Host on Ann Arbor’s 107one and has been collecting comics for over 40 years. His collection includes a complete run of ActionComics from 1985 – 2011. He thinks Batman needs to get over it already.
What’s better than ONE Nerd Nite at LIVE? Why, it’s returning there as our regular venue, of course! That’s right, folks, Nerd Nite and LIVE are back together and better than ever! Celebrate the reunion of Ann Arbor’s nerdiest “it couple” (or as much of a couple as an event and a nightclub can be) by coming to A2NN #81 on Wednesday, August 9 at 7pm at LIVE (102 S. 1st Street)!
We’ll start things off learning to Recreate a Functioning Ecosystem in Your Neighborhood. So the world is falling to pieces, eh? Let’s grab those pieces and put’m back together. William Kirst of Adapt will show you how.
William is the founder of Adapt Community Supported Ecology and Adapt Landscapes. He’s fairly optimistic that we humans can do this.
Get ready to dive into the world of bacteriology and microorganisms! In Killer Klebsiella: The Bacterium You Need to Know About, Lavinia Unverdorben will teach you enough to become an “honorary microbiologist” before exploring the dangerous yet fascinating bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Lavinia is a PhD student at UofM studying risk factors associated with bacterial gut colonization and infection. When not in the lab, you can find Lavinia at a local CrossFit gym or hanging out with her cat, Teddy.
We’ll close out the night with Finding Exoplanets, Fixing the Drake Equation. Jim Ottaviani will show how we detect exoplanets and share what we have found so far. As a bonus, he’ll also touch on “The Drake Equation: the most famous way to estimate if ETs are really out there. It’s old enough to get Social Security and could use an update. Let’s fix it together!
Jim is a NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador (SSA), a comic book writer, a retired librarian, and a former nuclear engineer.
Unfortunately, due to a SOLIDLY green radar and a (YIPES) 90% chance of heavy thunderstorms at the EXACT TIME our outdoor event is scheduled to start, we’re cancelling tonight’s Nerd Nite. Stay tuned and see these wonderful speakers at future months, and stay dry and safe tonight!
It’s patio season!! Time to sit relax outside with a cool beverage, enjoy the company of fellow nerds, and maybe even learn something new at the same time! That’s right, it’s time for the lo-tech “Summer Vacation” edition at Nerd Nite on the Patio at York (1928 Packard). Join us there at 7pm on Wed. July 12!
We’ll kick things off learning about Changing the World and Why ‘Island’ is the Best Card in Magic the Gathering with State Senator Jeff Irwin (MI-15). Sen. Irwin will share his experience and knowledge of the local politics that impact us, his policy priorities, and why “Island” is the best card in Magic the Gathering. Sen. Irwin was raised in Sault Ste. Marie, but his family made Washtenaw County their home. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Kathryn, and their two children, Sylvia and Mackinac. Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2018, he served 11 years on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and 6 years in the Michigan House of Representatives.
Surabhi Balachander will take us on a journey of Reading the 50 states in 2023. Surabhi is intentionally reading a book about or set in each U.S. state, one book a week, going through the states in alphabetical order—as of now, she’s up to Nebraska! Surabhi will incorporate insights from her background as a scholar of multiethnic and rural American literature to discuss the goals of this project and focus on some of her favorites.
Surabhi is a PhD candidate in English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, where she studies rurality, race, and environment in American literature from 1920-2020. In her spare time, she reviews books and talks about how much she loves AADL on Instagram @surabhi.reading.
Things take a turn to the macabre (or will they?!) when Sexton Leif Laufeyarsen takes us through The Evolution of the Cemetery. Learn about the difference between a cemetery and the graveyard (did you even know there was one?) as Sexton takes us through the shift from graveyard to cemetery and some surprising activities that took place in those early cemeteries. He promises it won’t get (too) gross!
Leif is a volunteer docent and master chef at Cobblestone Farms.
Summer in Ann Arbor … it’s here folks! And what a better way to celebrate the true beginning of summer than with an EXTRA-AMAZING Nerd Nite at Ann Arbor Summerfest! Guess what, that’s exactly what we’re doing on Wednesday, June 21 at 7pm!
Join us at the Annex at Top of the Park (915 E. Washington St.) for an evening of Nerdy Delights! (Want more info about how to get there and where to park? Check out A2SF’s FAQ)
Have you ever wondered what your drunk self, Holartic wildfowl and Glen Campbell can teach us about how the brain makes maps? Then meet Chloe Rybicki-Kler and Get Lost in the wild world of the Retrosplenial Cortex, nature’s ‘Navigator Extraordinaire!
Chloe is a Michigan Alum and a 4th Year Candidate in the PIBS Neuroscience Program. Her research focuses on the cholinergic and serotonergic of retrosplenial spatial navigation circuits in health and neurodegenerative disease.
Why do we keep retelling a story about a felonious blonde, some bears, and a frankly terrible breakfast? Join Amir Baghdadchi for So Wrong It’s “Just Right”: The Bewildering Story Mechanics of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” We’ll revisit this legendary cottage in the woods and discover how “The Three Bears” doesn’t just violate the thermodynamic laws of porridge cooling, it flouts everything we’re taught about proper storytelling.
Amir is a writer, comedian, and host of The Moth StorySLAM in Ann Arbor. He has appeared at Pickathon Festival and on the Moth Radio Hour, and he actually really does live in a cottage deep in the pines, but prefers room temperature muesli.
“Hey, you got your tuba in my vintage synthesizer!” “No, you got your vintage synthesizer IN MY TUBA!” Guess we’d better Journey to the Center of the Sousaloopaphone. The Sousaloopaphone is part loop pedal, part vintage synth, part sega genesis, and 100% PURE TUBA. Come hear Eli Neiburger its hapless inventor detail the mistakes that led to such an abomination.
Eli plays most woodwinds, a little brass, and a lot of Kerbal Space Program. He is the instigator of the Nintendoland Family Band and can frequently be found in the Director’s office at the Downtown Library.
Want to put more Nerd Nite on your calendar? (OF COURSE you do!) We’ve got LOTS of great Nerd Nites coming up!
Wed. June 21, 7pm, The Annex at A2 Summerfest
Wed. July 12, 7pm, York
Wed. Aug. 9, 7pm, LIVE
Wed. Sept. 13, 7pm, LIVE
Wed. Oct. 11, 7pm, LIVE
There’s no place like home and for long-time Ann Arbor Nerd Niters, that home is LIVE!
We’re thrilled to make the homecoming for a science-filled evening at LIVE (102 S. 1st Street). See you there on Wednesday, May 10 at 7pm!
Emma Thornton-Kolbe, a neuroscience graduate student in the Clowney Lab at the University of Michigan, will bring us What’s in a Name?: Nerds Having Fun in the Fruit Fly Genome. In humans and other animals, named genes are usually acronyms related to the disease they are associated with. But scientists have gotten a bit more creative when it comes to fruit flies! Hear about some of their more whimsical choices that are more fun, but are just as useful as those boring acronyms!
Leanne Su, a Ph.D. candidate in the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory at the University of Michigan will be Turning it Up to Eleven teaching us about Scaling Hall Thrusters to High Current Densities. What are those? Just the electric propulsion systems that could eventually TAKE US TO MARS! No big deal, right?
Kayla Zochowski, a biologist who has dabbled in lots of “ologies” including virology, molecular biology, and computational biology, will be diving into our DNA with DNAncestry: Glimpsing the Past with Your Genetic Code. Learn how a tube of spit can turn into information about your ancestors!
Want to put more Nerd Nite on your calendar? We’re hitting up lots of great Ann Arbor spots in the coming year.
Wed. May 10, 7pm, LIVE
Wed. June 21, 7pm, The Annex at A2 Summerfest
Wed. July 12, 7pm, York
Wed. Sept. 13, 7pm, Venue
Wed. Oct. 11, 7pm, LIVE
It’s springtime, and we’re ready to welcome back the daffodils, mudpuddles, and THE RETURN OF NERD NITE (now with slide decks!) That’s right folks, Ann Arbor Nerd Nite is back to make one Wednesday night a month brighter, happier, and nerdier! We’ll be bopping around various Ann Arbor venues in 2023, hitting old favorites and exploring new places!
On Wednesday, April 12 at 7pm, we’ll be hitting up Venue (1919 S. Industrial) for an evening of Nerd Nite revelries!
Jennifer German, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador, will break down the acronyms and talk about NASA’s International Partners – including ESA, CSA*ASC, JAXA, Roscosmos and more! After all, Space isn’t just for the Americans, Russians, and Chinese!
Justin Schell, librarian, audio/video producer, and visual artist, will introduce Deeds of Injustice. Racially restrictive covenants, clauses in deeds that excluded anyone who wasn’t white from living in a property or neighborhood, were an integral part of housing inequality and systemic racism in the United States, including in Washtenaw County. Justin will share how Justice InDeed is working to better understand how these covenants were used in Washtenaw County, how they’ve contributed to inequality in the county today, and how all of us can help repair the harms done by them.
Nancy Wayne received her PhD in physiology from University of Michigan in 1988 and was professor of physiology at UCLA for 28 years. Nancy studied how the brain controls reproduction in sea slugs and fish and will be sharing The Fascinating Sex Life of a Hermaphroditic Sea Slug.
See y’all at 7pm on 4/12 at Venue! And want to plan ahead? Here’s the Nerd Nite schedule for the next several months!
Wed. April 12, 7pm, Venue
Wed. May 10, 7pm, LIVE
Wed. June 21, 7pm, A2 Summerfest (more details to come)
Wed. July 12, 7pm, York
Wed. Sept. 13, 7pm Venue
Wed. Oct. 11, 7pm LIVE
Join us in the Lobbytorium of the Downtown Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library (343 South Fifth Ave) at 2pm on Sunday, February 19, to explore The Depths of Wikipedia with Annie Rauwerda.
UM Graduate Annie Rauwerda highlights the strange and wonderful quirks of Wikipedia on Instagram (@depthsofwikipedia) and Twitter (@depthsofwiki) — and NOW, in person at your local library! You’ll laugh, you’ll learn something, and you’ll have a great time, or YOUR MONEY BACK*.
*As always, there’s no cover charge for Nerd Nite A2! Come out and join us for a FREE afternoon of great entertainment!
Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to postpone tonights’ Nerd Nite Season Finale. Stay tuned for a new date sometime in 2023!
It’s time for the season finale of 2022’s Nerd Nites, and we’re going out with a bang! Join us in the Lobbytorium of the Downtown Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library (343 South Fifth Ave) at 6:30pm on Tuesday, November 22, to explore The Depths of Wikipedia with Annie Rauwerda.
UM Graduate Annie Rauwerda highlights the strange and wonderful quirks of Wikipedia on Instagram (@depthsofwikipedia) and Twitter (@depthsofwiki) — and NOW, in person at your local library! You’ll laugh, you’ll learn something, and you’ll have a great time, or YOUR MONEY BACK*.
*As always, there’s no cover charge for Nerd Nite A2! Come out and join us for a FREE night of great entertainment!