Nerd Nite April 12th! This month, we’re celebrating space and Yuri’s Night – the annual worldwide celebration of the first flight in space! Come hear about how stars are born and die, how space-based technology is allowing us to understand food security in developing nations, and take a look at what’s it like to be inside the shuttle, including close-up shots of spilled coffee at zero g, courtesy of two digital media and photography nerds. Date: Saturday April 12 Time: doors ~6:00PM show ~6:30PM Where: DC9, 1940 9th St NW Tickets on sale March 24 at dcnine/ Stars with Stomach Problems By Josh Shiode A supernova is a star projectile vomiting: nearly every atom in your body was once inside a star, meaning that you’re basically made of star puke (I think I might be misquoting Carl Sagan there…). Several billion years after stars are born, no matter what type they are, they will come to some sort of dramatic end, resulting in cool-sounding things like “red dwarfs” and “black holes.” In this talk well discuss the latest research on how stars are born and we’ll also explore the things we know and don’t know about how some of the largest stars in the universe meet loud, messy ends complete with stellar burping fits and… well, you know… Bio: Josh Shiode just finished his Ph.D. in astrophysics at UC Berkeley, where he played gastroenterologist to the stars… After spending most of his six years in graduate school studying the inner workings of some of the biggest stars in the universe, he recently moved to DC to become a public policy fellow with the American Astronomical Society. Here, he works with policymakers and other advocates to (try to) improve federal policies and public funding for science. Ports, Potholes, Food Security – and Space By Molly Brown How does trade and transportation infrastructure affect the cost and availability of food around the world? Food security is profoundly affected when local droughts occur in places with only marginal access to the international food markets. And, what’s more, food security can be assessed and predicted by using technology from space. Using satellite imagery from crops and amount of green space in a given region, scientists are able to predict food supply issues for the region and respond with appropriate support. This talk will discuss that technology as well as delve into how international ports, poorly maintained roads and food production affect local food access and result in changes in household food security. Bio: Dr. Molly Brown is a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, working on a wide variety of projects relating to climate change, food security and satellite remote sensing. Hanging Out in the Space Shuttle By John Brack and Susan Poulton What happens when two space nerds get their dream to hang out inside all three space shuttles for 30+ hours? You get one of the most detailed photographic documentations ever captured of the space shuttles during retirement. Using a panoramic robotic camera and their ability to listen to stories and drink beer for hours on end, Susan Poulton and Jon Brack got to know the people behind the shuttle program, whose passion for sharing their life’s work was infectious. In these moments, we heard the most bizarre, funny, and emotional stories about the shuttle program you can imagine. We’ll tell you a few of the tales, if you promise it stays just between all of us! Also take a high resolution photographic tour of every drop of coffee and drops of…um…not coffee, left on the walls of the orbiters. Bio: Jon Brack is a freelance photojournalist living in Washington, DC doing a variety of panoramic photography and photojournalism for non profits. Originally from Colorado, he has spent more than a decade working in both the populated world and geographically isolated locations like Antarctica. He has run around the south pole twice, naked. Susan Poulton is formerly Vice President of digital media for National Geographic and currently runs her own digital strategy consulting firm, named after a super secret part of the space shuttle. She spent her own time and money photographing 19 space shuttle launches and is a graduate of Space Camp, where as a 12-year-old shuttle pilot she infamously swore on the intercom four times and ejected half of her crew into space. Nerd Nite DC: Be There and Be Square!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 03:58:02 +0000
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