Nerd Nite #10 – Using Science to Win Friends and Influence People

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. We aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with “e.” Be there and be square.

When: Tuesday, December 3, 2013, doors at 6:00pm, event at 7:00pm
Where: Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, Portland
Cost: $8.00 suggested cover at the door*

This Nerd Nite will feature two talks:

Try This at Home: Science Experiments Using Stuff You Already Own
Science demonstrations are a good way to learn about and explain how scientific processes work, but doing them can also be a lot of fun and make you look really cool. Chemistry graduate students Nicholas Day, Justin Dunlap, Elliot Mylott, and other members of PSU’s Science Outreach Society (http://scienceoutreachsociety.weebly.com) will show us how to make some of your household items fluoresce, how to make color changing dyes, and how to make plastic wrap out of your old CDs. Come check out some of the cheapest and readily accessible demos that can help you not only sound smart, but look smart too.

Physics for Fun, Health, and Profit
Whether you’re an aspiring secret agent, rock star, or martini critic, or you just want more fabulousness in your life, becoming familiar with basic physics concepts will help you be successful. You can’t change the laws of physics and you can’t escape them, so why not put them to work for you? Christine McKinley (http://www.christinemckinley.com) is a mechanical engineer, musician, and co-host of History Channel’s Brad Meltzer’s Decoded (http://www.history.com/shows/brad-meltzers-decoded) and she will show you how a knowledge of physics is crucial in everyday situations like first dates, stage dives, and arson.

McKinley’s first book, Physics for Beautiful People: Making the Laws of the Universe Work for You, is available for pre-order on Amazon.

*A note on the suggested cover: Nerd Nite is completely supported by money collected at the door. We are committed to offering education opportunities to adults who want to learn, so if $8 is a hardship for you, please come anyway and donate what you can.