Spring is here! Nerd Nite wants to bring you new printers, how to discover new planets and language growing and changing. Spring edition will be held on Wednesday, 6 November. Keep your eyes peeled here for who our speakers are and details of their talk.

Our friends at Mr Wow’s Emporium will be hosting us again with cold beers, amazing cocktails and the hot Cuban food truck.  Be there and be square!

Nerd Nite Spring Event
Wednesday, 6 November
at Mr Wow’s Emporium
97b Smith Street, Fitzroy
Doors 7pm/$5

 

Back to the lectures at hand:
*Presentation 1
Is 3D printing going to be bigger than the web?
by David F. Flanders

Description: The start of the 21st century saw the rise of the machine in the form of the Web, but isn’t the Web just a 2D screen? Don’t we as humans care more about real objects than virtual ones? Can 3D printing deliver objects that are real enough or is it all just plastic fantastic? Will 3D printed objects like guns be too real and result in anarchy? Or perhaps, we’ll be able to print human organs and save even more lives? This Nerd night talk will help explore the capability (both fear and hope) that 3D printing will come to provide us in the 22nd century. 3D Printing has just begun and will only reach its potential for the next nerdy generation. Come join us for a nerd night from the future where everyone is a Digital Blacksmith with their own 3D printer.

Bio: David F. Flanders has been involved with 3D Printing since 2009, when he first met Dr. Adrian Bower and the RepRap project in the UK[1].  ”Flanders” (as his friends call him) has spoke on ‘the disruptive rise of 3D printers’ at multiple ‘innovation events’ including TEDx as well as on radio broadcasts such as the BBC’s Click programme.  David’s key message is about how individuals now have the capacity to be their own ‘Digital Blacksmiths’ who can wake up each morning with a new eureka idea and then proceed to design, smelt and print the product ready for selling by the time they go to bed.   In addition, David is very passionate about teaching others to both use and build 3D printers so that anyone can join this innovation revolution – become a Digital Blacksmith today!  In short, “3D Printers will change everything in your sector, again!“

*Presentation 2
The search for new earth: looking for extra-solar planets
by Keith Hsuan

Description: Just how rare is the Earth, really? This question has long intrigued both scientists and the general public alike. Over the past 25 years, we have come steadily closer to answering this question, with the search for planets beyond the solar system gathering pace. Keith will provide a briefing on the journey so far, as we seek not only to discover our sister planets, but also determine the properties of the Universe around us.

Bio: Keith is currently a frustrated astrophysicist masquerading as a bank analyst. With a background maths and engineering, his research has focused on the planetary dynamics – particularly around binary star systems – as well as the number of Star Wars related acronyms which are possible in peer-reviewed literature.

*Presentation 3
Is text-speak really killing language?
by Alison Burns

Description: People are convinced that text-speak is the beginning of the end for language, but is this really true? We now “talk” through text more than ever before via discussion boards, Facebook, Twitter or SMS. Are we creating a generation of illiterates who can’t spell? Or is there something far more interesting going on? Text-speak illuminates the cooperative and creative power of language to adapt to new technologies, communities and environments. In short – ppl dv8 2 cr8!

Bio: Alison Burns is an Associate Lecturer at Deakin University. With a background in Professional Writing and Linguistics, she has taught professional writing, linguistics, language acquisition and literacy.  Alison has a passion for understanding how language operates in the real world, how it reflects and shapes our thoughts, passions and lives. Because she doesn’t see essays, reports and news articles – she sees acts of cooperation, persuasion, dominance and invention. She sees a society building itself word by word.