Nerd Nite 48: Adapted!
7/10/13
7pm-10pm
502 Brushy St.
Austin, Texas
austin.nerdnite.com
[ASL interpreter will be provided]
It's summertime, which means celebrating the beautiful weather by constantly watching blockbuster movies and eating greasy popcorn. To honor that reality, please read this month's talk summary in your best movie tagline voice:
"The human race was born into this world, molded by it. Achieving mastery, we adapted the earth to suit our species, bending it to our will. But some things…refuse to stay bent. "
This month's hot & sweaty talks:
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"Climate Change and Human Evolution: From Petite Primates to Big-ass, Bipedal Apes," by Sierra Castedo
Environmental change is one of the most important causal forces behind natural selection and adaptation, and changing environments have played a major role in primate and human evolutionary history. Sierra Castedo will present a highlight reel of how changing environments have impacted our evolution, from the dawn of primates, to the first migration of early humans out of Africa.
Sierra is a graduate student in physical anthropology at UT Austin, studying the use of micromammals as a proxy for past environments to reconstruct the environmental context of human evolution.
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"Algae 101: Saving the world one micro-organism at a time," by Michael Jochum
Microalgae have the adaptability necessary to survive almost anywhere on the planet, grow at an incredibly fast rate, and produce valuable commodities like Omega 3's, bioplastics, and biofuel. This presentation will briefly discuss how to grow algae, provide examples of some interesting strains, and highlight some of the research that is being conducting to foster new green technologies.
Michael is the Chief Scientist for AlgEternal Technologies, an Austin based startup company co-located at the JJ Pickle Research Facility in Austin, Tx and in Weimar, Tx.
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"Year of the Pig," by Mark Hainds
First we adapted them. Then they escaped…and adapted back.
Feral pig expert Mark Hainds will fly in (!) from Alabama to share his experiences and observations from a year spent pursuing, killing, and eating these animals in ten different states.
Mark is a Research Associate for Auburn University, Research Coordinator for The Longleaf Alliance, an author, and a vendor at the Palafox Farmers' Market in Pensacola, Florida.
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Plus!
Want to get a jump on your nerdery? Form a covalent bond at Nerd Nite Speed-Dating before the show:
http://buytickets.at/nnatx/9572
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Doors at 7, talks start at 7:30. As always, Nerd Nite is FREE.
(Talks may not be given in the order described. Grab a beer and reellaaaxxxx)
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Contact Lewis at [email protected] for any questions.