Nerd Nite Ann Arbor

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Gather ‘round, nerd friends, for another amazing entry in our NNA2 adventure! Join us as Manorama Kadwani explains ways bioelectronic therapies could solve medical pee-mergencies (and others), artist and author Hannah Burr discusses her work at the intersection of fine art and science, and music therapist Callie Finzel rhapsodizes about the amazing effects music can have on the brain. It’s going to be fun!!!! It’s going to be interesting!!!!! It’s going to be NERD NITE A2!!!!!!!!! So don’t miss out – bring a friend, grab a drink, and grab a seat!

When: Thursday, 10/18/2018

Doors at 6:30/talks at 7 pm

Where: LIVE, 102 S. First St.

Cost: Free, courtesy of the Ann Arbor District Library

Manorama Kadwani – Bioelectronic Medicine: talking with nerves

People with the problem of frequent need to pee want to get back their bladder control. Patients of such a neurological disorder suffer from not only physical problems, but it affects their work performance, social outings and there’s a stigma about others getting to know about it. Conventional therapies like drug prescriptions have side effects and surgeries do not help many bladder dysfunction patients. So what else can help them? There are prosthetic devices in the market, based on a new therapy called Bioelectronic medicine. My research is focused on understanding the mechanism of this therapy by creating computational simulations of neurons and their interaction with these tiny prosthetic devices. So is this the alternative therapy of future? Can it help patients of other neurological disorders?

About Manorama: I am a Master’s student at the University of Michigan. I am pursuing research under Dr. Tim Bruns, focusing on a type of sensory neurons and their interactions with tiny prosthetic devices with the ultimate aim of designing better prosthetic devices for bladder dysfunction. In my free time, I like to explore what Ann Arbor has to offer for art lovers! I have always loved sketching, but to improve my craft I like to attend the drawing classes in AADL. I am also beginning to learn the Ballroom dancing, because dance makes me happy!

Hannah Burr – Art Among the Elements
Burr will describe the slog and float of creating an artists book about the elements: the essential learnings of her creative process, what she’s extracting from the silos of science, and how much weirder reality is than expected.

About Hannah: Hannah Burr is a Boston MA native who has lived in A2 for just over a year. She’s a contemporary artist and author of two books on the intersection of creative and contemplative practice. Her third book, on the naturally occurring elements of the periodic table, will be out this winter. Burr is a Cum Laude graduate of Brown University and tends to create bridges through her projects to subjects too specialized or fleeting for most people to engage with, including practices sometimes called religious or spiritual, and recently, scientific. Burr’s artwork has been exhibited in the contemporary wing of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Currier Museum in NH, and the Drawing Center in New York NY. Follow her on Twitter @good_bonfire.

Callie Finzell – Musical Mentality: A Melodious Monologue on Music and the Mind

Music, like love, is all around. It permeates our everyday lives in both obvious and more obscure ways. This talk will dive into the weird world of musical neuroscience and its applications for therapy. How is music processed in the brain? How can it be used to effect movement, alleviate pain, improve cognition, and facilitate well-being? And what do government-funded LSD research trials have to do with it?

About Callie: Like many who have graced this stage before her, Callie Finzel, MT-BC, has a few letters behind her name and plenty of nerdy interests…that are completely irrelevant to this talk. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, Callie is a music therapist in hospice care who sings and plays piano, guitar, and whatever miscellaneous percussion instruments show up around the house. She is interested in the interaction between music interests and conception of self because, as the Fraggles say, “music makes us real.” When she’s not playing, listening to, or thinking about music, Callie enjoys baking, reading, watching supernatural tv shows with strong female leads, and 100%-ing the Lego Harry Potter video games, with or without the help of her wife and cats.

It’s happening again! Nerd Nite A2 is back as entrepreneur Leann Abad guides us through the ecosystem that new businesses need to thrive, pharmaceutical scientist Vernon Lalone reveals the impact of medication accumulation in our bodies, and Kat Johnson creeps us out with an examination of that strange feeling of intimate unfamiliarity – the uncanny. Grab a friend, grab a drink, and a grab a seat for Nerd Nite A2 #58!

When: Thurs. 9/20/2018

Doors at 6:30/talks at 7 pm

Where: LIVE, 102 S. First St.

Cost: Nothing! Sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library!

Leann Abad –  Startup Ecosystems: What Michigan Needs

When you hear the word startup, what do you think about? Do you think tech? Retail? Duo Security? Regardless of what you envision, we know one thing for sure: startups are what drive economic growth and development. This talk goes over what Michigan needs to continue growth as a startup ecosystem.

About Leann – Director of Content, Argonomo; Founder, ASHE Media; Host of the Impact Michigan and Generation [I] podcasts. Passionate about entrepreneurship, digital media, and building the Michigan startup ecosystem. Follow him @leann_abad.

Vernon Lalone – The Search for Drugs Within: A Multi-Scale Journey from Organs to Organelles

Did you know that many FDA-approved drugs accumulate inside organs and tissues of our bodies, sometimes so much so that they actually form crystals inside cells? Have you ever wondered where drugs go when we consume them? Throughout this talk, we will explore routes of administration, the fate of drugs inside our bodies (the ways they distribute throughout different organs and cell organelles), and the use of laser-scanning microscopy for the measurement of drug accumulation inside immune cells.

About Vernon: Vernon is a PhD candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. He is part of an interdisciplinary research team of scientists, engineers, and medical professionals studying the effects of long-term drug exposure and adverse drug reactions. Vernon was born and raised in Northern Michigan and has lived throughout this glorious state his entire life. When he’s not peering through a microscope, he spends his time pursuing balance in life through socialization, exercise, spirituality, literature, musical/visual art, and other creative avenues.

Kat Johnson – It’s Uncanny! Why Do I Feel So Anxious and Upset and What Does It Mean?

 The Uncanny is nothing and nowhere, the feeling of not being at home in a situation that should be familiar. We’ll delve into this psychological and media theory about what it means to be full of not knowing, not full of knowing, and to enter the Twilight Zone at the edge of science and imagination.

About Kat: Kat is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Screen Arts in Cultures. She currently does not know what she is doing in any capacity whatsoever, but she really digs media analysis and holding a microphone, so here she is. You can probably find her hosting bar trivia, hosting the Borderline Insanity with Kat and Alex podcast, or reading anything of any sort. Follow her at @whoiskatreally.

This entry in the Nerd Nite Ann Arbor universe is full of stories! Kayla Coughlin has got amazing behind-the-scenes anecdotes and details of how the beloved books of your childhood were written and illustrated. Justin Schell will make your mad scientist dreams come true by explaining how you – YES, YOU – can pitch in on experiments and data collection and maybe, just maybe, make Bill Nye and Neil DeGrasse Tyson proud. And graphic novelists (and husband-and-wife) will share the story of how they wrote Science Comics: Rockets! as a team, and still like each other today. So gather ’round, kids, because it’s story time at NNA2!!!

When: Thursday, August 16 – doors 6:30 pm/talks 7:00 pm

Where: LIVE (102 S 1st St)

No cover charge – Gee, thanks, AADL!

ABCDWTF: Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Classic Kids’ Books – Kayla Coughlin

Stand back, we’re all going to do science!  – Justin Schell

How to Survive Making a Graphic Novel With Your Spouse – Anne and Jerzy Drozd

Navigating a relationship with your spouse or partner can be challenging enough–so why would you willingly work together on a project that can take a year or more to complete? Anne and Jerzy Drozd, authors of Science Comics: Rockets, explore how they handled the creative challenges of making a nonfiction comic about science and answer the most important question facing humanity today: WHO. DID. WHAT.

About Anne:

Anne Drozd is a public librarian by day and a cartoonist by night. She’s an avid space exploration enthusiast and a card holding member of the Planetary Society. Her favorite NASA mission is Apollo 12. Anne helps to introduce people to comics through her work at the Ann Arbor District Library and as co-organizer of the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival. Follow her @ethelfred.

About Jerzy:

Jerzy Drozd is one of the artists of The Warren Commission Report. He leads cartooning workshops for children and teens in libraries and schools, as well as for teachers who want to bring comics to the classroom. He also podcasts about comics and how to make them. Drozd has drawn special projects for Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Marvel Comics, VIZ Media, and others. Follow him @jerzy.

Here’s a collection of things you have maybe never thought of: an examination of what exactly constitutes a race riot, the secrets of maintaining an all-metal home, and the narrative function of cats in film. Nerd Nite A2 has assembled a brilliant lineup of people who have done the thinking of each of these topics for you – and they’re here to open your eyes. So invite a friend, grab a drink, and prepare to go down a few rabbit holes. See you there!

When: Thursday, July 19 – doors 6:30 pm/talks 7:00 pm

Where: LIVE (102 S 1st St)

No cover charge – AADL is sponsoring!

American Race Riots — Our National Sport? – Sherlonya Turner

The United States has been the site of hundreds of race-based disorderly confrontations that can be described as race riots. By now, most everyone has seen images from riots on TV whether it’s a riot from the 1960s, or from the more recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri or Baltimore, Maryland. But what is a riot? Why do they happen?  What are the trends? Common themes? While one can learn quite a bit from the study of any of these individual events, taking on the topic broadly has different lessons for us. This talk will discuss the overall trajectory of race riots in the United States, exploring the greater context for mass race-based conflict. 

About Sherlonya: Sherlonya is a department manager at AADL. When she’s not doing that, she can’t stop starting projects. Right now she is into learning about race riots, but is also into history-based baking, open letter writing, and a variety of sewing and crafts. If any of that interests you, you can find most of it at sherlonya.net or follow her on Twitter @sherlonya.

Lustron: America’s Heavy Metal Housing – John Heider

Lustron homes were factory-made all-metal homes developed after WWII for the booming housing market. Most of their surfaces, inside and out and on their roofs were made of enameled steel. John lives in one, and will be sharing the ins and outs of occupying an all-metal home.

About John: John was a 28 year veteran newspaper photojournalist who was recently retired against his will and is also a ninja school dropout.

The Film Cat-alogue: A Hiss-tory of Felines in Meow-vies – Jen Proctor

This illustrated lecture will provide an overview of the history of cats in movies, including their character types, their narrative functions, the notion of the “feline gaze,” and, of course, cuteness ratings on a scale from 1 to ZOMG KITTEH!!!

About Jen: Jen is a filmmaker and Associate Professor of Journalism and Screen Studies at UM-Dearborn. In her spare time, Jen studies abnormal feline behavior.

After a hiatus in May, up pop TWO Nerd Nites for June — this first one, at Top of the Park, features some marvelous comix nerds, who are in town for the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival (A2CAF). So we (kindly) kidnapped them for a special Nerd Nite!

Zack Giallongo’s going to tell us why scaring kids can be a GOOD thing, Maris is here to fill us in on adventures in Antarctica, and Hanah Stiverson shows us how comics allow readers to dig into new ways to explore what it means to be human.

Please note the earlier time and different locale than a usual Nerd Nite!

When: Thursday, June 14 – doors 5 pm/talks 5:30 pm
Where: The Annex, Top of the Park, Ann Arbor Summer Festival (915 E Washington St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109)
No cover charge – thanks, AADL!

Zack Giallongo — I’ll Give You Something To Be Scared Of!: Why It’s Good To Be Frightening To Children
A look at the storytelling techniques that use frightening and disturbing imagery for kids, and why those stories stick with us through the relatable heroes that overcome them

About Zack:
Zack is a professional cartoonist and teacher, and a not very professional banjo-player or dresser. You might know him from his work on various Star Wars books, including the Ewok graphic novel, Shadows of Endor, and the series of Doodle books. You might also know him from his NYT bestselling graphic novel, Broxo, about teenage barbarians and zombies. He loves animals, D&D, and writing about himself in the third person.

Find him online here: @zackules

Maris Wicks — Is It Cold In Here or Is It Just Me?
Everything you ever wanted to know about Antarctica, and probably some stuff you didn’t (like that time I pooped in a bucket).

About Maris:
Comic book artist and writer with an insatiable appetite for science. Especially science in strange places

Find her online here: @mariswicks
Hanah Stiverson — The Future Is Non-human: Examples of the Comic Book Mutant, Cyborg, and Alien
American comics have historically been used as a way of imagining other modes of being. Since the creation of Superman humanity has been allowed an imagined space of greater power, ability, and capability. In recent years comics have transformed to include a wider range of experiences and bodies, and to allow for fuller beyond-human experience. In this talk I will be looking at examples of recent comic books that imagine fantastical ways of being, which allow readers to explore their humanity from new perspectives.

About Hanah:
Hanah Stiverson is currently a PhD student at the University of Michigan in the department of American Culture. Her current research focuses broadly on comics as a mode through which race, gender, sexuality and power can be articulated. Hanah works primarily with Image Comics texts to consider the ways in which access to a profitable creator-owned market has allowed traditionally marginalized voices new space to create dynamic works. Hanah is the co-coordinator of the Transnational Comics Workshop, which brings together scholars from many fields to encourage an interdisciplinary approach to reading and engaging with comics as a medium.

For April, Nerd Nite A2 has teamed up with MSU’s Science Festival to bring you three amazing scientists talking about biology, brains, and behavior! Patsy Delacey will introduce us to the gelada monkey, and the study of the function of its’ “bleeding-heart” chest patch. Rosie Bettle uses chimpanzee behavior to explain why humans cooperate to create complex societies. Caitlin Posillico will explain how getting sick disrupts our capacity to learn, and how discovering why could lead to breakthroughs in diseases like Alzheimer’s. Lots of brilliance on display, so round up some pals and come advance your understanding of brains and behavior!

Patsy Delacey – The primate that wears its heart on its sleeve

Have you ever been curious about animal behavior? Have you wondered how animals communicate with one another? Do you love primates? Come learn about gelada monkeys – Ethiopia’s unique and wonderful highland monkey. Gelada monkeys are nicknamed “bleeding-heart monkeys” because of a patch of exposed red skin on their chests. Adult male gelada chest patches get brighter red when they’re excited, but this doesn’t happen for adult females, young males, or non-breeding males. Could the chest patch be an ornament to attract females, like a peacock’s plumage? Or does it signal to other males to back off? How does the environment influence signaling? I’ll discuss all of this and more about my field research in the Simien Mountains.

About Patsy:

Patsy is a biopsychology PhD student at the University of Michigan, studying how its high-altitude environment has shaped gelada monkey physiology and behavior.

Rosie Bettle – Thinking Like a Primate

Humans are a really weird species. In particular, we cooperate a lot, and this helps us build up complex societies. What kinds of mental abilities help us to cooperate, and do other species also use similar mental abilities to help them cooperate? To start answering this question, I will be talking about cooperation in our closest living relatives: chimpanzees.

About Rosie:

Rosie is a PhD student at the University of Michigan, who studies how primates think about the world. When she isn’t thinking about the mental lives of monkeys, she is usually exploring Kerrytown, trying to find new nature-y spots, or sampling a different craft beer.  

Caitlin Posillico – Brain fog from brain sickness

People get sick all the time, and sometimes it happens with the WORST timing. Maybe you’re supposed to take a big exam, attend an important meeting, leave for a business trip, or even take a vacation, but now all you can think about is how sick you are. What happens to our memory capability when this happens? Is this going to prevent us from being able to learn the new information being presented at the meeting? Is it going to prevent us from recalling the definition of that big term you learned about last week? Importantly, does this affect males and females differently? Caitlin’s research tries to figure out some possible answers to these questions using a viral mimic in male and female mice during different types of learning and memory tasks. If we can figure out how getting sick disrupts our capacity to learn and remember, maybe we can gain some insight as to how neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease or psychological disorders like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder cause debilitating memory impairments, and ideally, how we might be able to fix them.

About Caitlin:

Caitlin is a PhD student at the University of Michigan studying sex differences in the impact of neuroimmune activation on learning and memory. Essentially, she’s interested in what happens to memory when the brain gets sick and whether or not it affects males and females in the same way. She got her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Neuroscience at the University of Delaware (Delawhere? east coast!) where she fell in love with the brain, neuroimmunology, and academia. Originally hailing from Long Island, NY, she has (proudly) lost her accent and is loving the friendliness of Midwestern life. When she’s not locked in the lab or office, you can find her watching Netflix and looking for new ways to incorporate pesto into every meal.

Welcome back to another round of Nerd Nite Ann Arbor!! This month, Karen Alexander dissects the dangers of the phragmites invasion of the Great Lakes basin, Ryan Brase demystifies BitCoin, and Kat Johnson breaks down sitcom structure in this very special episode of NNA2! Be there and be square, friends!

When: Thursday, February 15 – doors 6:30 pm/talks 7:00 pm
Where: LIVE (102 S 1st St)
Cover charge? No way! AADL’s got this!

Ry4an Brase – Bitcoin: A Bad Idea Annoying People Won’t Shut-Up About

Karen Alexander – Fighting Back Against a Monster Grass in the Great Lakes Basin

Kat Johnson – 22 Minutes in 22 Minutes: Deconstructing the Sitcom from Cold Open to End Tag

Week after week, we tune into our favorite sitcoms. We expect and hope that our characters change little, fail often, and stay within the realm of familiarity. Nearly every episode of every successful sitcom follows the same basic formula of comfort, obstacle, failure, and a return to comfort—yet sitcoms as a medium are far from burning out. How does the formula work, and why does it keep us coming back for more?

About Kat:

Kat spends a huge amount of time watching the same shows over and over with endless enthusiasm. She is a 2017 graduate of The University of Michigan with a degree in Screen Arts in Cultures who would like nothing more than to work on a sitcom, and for there to be a Community movie. Amongst other things, she is a video editor, theater carpenter, and trivia host. Nerd Nite is her last day in Ann Arbor before moving into the great unknown, which is probably Chicago. You can find her at katmakesthings.work, @whoiskatreally on Twitter, and @picturesofspiders on Instagram.