Welcome, nerds of all kinds, to Nerd Nite Baltimore! Nerd Nite (in over 90 cities around the world!) combines imbibing and learning. Anyone with a passion can be a Nerd Nite speaker!
Join us for a night of educational drinking! Nerd Nite Baltimore is a bi-monthly event held at a local bar where information combines with fun. Talks at Nerd Nite are typically 20 minutes with a rollicking Q&A afterward.
The barkeeps at De Kleine Duivel will keep your glasses full of delightful Belgian beer & spirits. (This is a 21 and over venue.)
This December we have three AWESOME speakers lined up for your entertainment:
Topic #1:
The Resistance: Bacteria vs. Antibiotics
Ryan Oliver
Antibiotics are a crutch of modern medicine. Unfortunately, resistance to these critical drugs is spreading at an alarming rate. Some questions we will address include: What kinds of antibiotics do we use to treat infection? How have bacteria become resistant to these drugs? How can we use molecular machinery already in use by bacteria to inspire new, more effective antibiotics?
About Ryan:
Ryan earned his B.S. in biochemistry at UNC Asheville and M.A. in chemistry at Johns Hopkins. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins studying the biosynthesis of antibiotics.
Topic #2:
The Sex Lives of Tarantulas
James Davies
The mating rituals of spiders may look familiar to nerds who have tried the dating scene – getting or giving lousy gifts, embarrassing dancing and being intimidated by your date. We’ve all been in that situation, but it can get much worse if you’re a spider.
About James:
James Davies is a nerd working for Hubble Space Telescope. He had a pet tarantula as a kid and has been fascinated with spiders ever since. He is happily married.
Topic #3:
Why I had a Boeing 747 Almost to Myself
Joel Green
Is the road to planets in our galaxy a bumpy one? Is it simple, gradual accumulation of tiny dust and gas parcels, or do we get to hit the “reset” button a few times on a new solar system? Did it happen here? Intrepid astrophysicist Dr. Joel Green will take you on a journey 42,000 ft above the coast on a unique observatory to bring you the latest on “gluttonous” stars that gobble and incinerate the planetary material around them… and wonders whether our seemingly friendly Sun has such a dark past.
About Joel:
Joel Green is one of the bosses of Nerd Nite Baltimore! In his day job, he is the Project Scientist in the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute — the Home of Hubble and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescopes, working closely with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Previously he was a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. A New Yorker who spent twelve years in upstate NY, six years in Austin, and now a resident of scenic Baltimore, he has acquired a fondness for crab and barbecue, cowboy boots and hats, sunshine and Civil War battlefields.