Ricardo Williams is currently the host of Nerd Nite Orlando and works as a designer, filmmaker, and musician. He also writes about culture, history, and US politics.
Town Hall is a new meetup from Nerd Nite Orlando where nerds can hangout and have more of an intimate discussion; as well as present ideas, voice their opinions, and ask questions of the the Nerd Nite team.
Thank you to Catalyst for hosting our second ever Nerd Nite Town Hall.
Join us for the next official Nerd Nite event at the Orlando Science Center on Thursday, August 13th. RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/945150705527847/
Every year, Nerd Nite cities from around the world gather in the nation’s capital for the Nerd Nite Global Fest, where a series of the best presentations from various cities are selected to present in conjunction with Smithsonian Magazine’s Future is Here Festival.
This year, Beth Phillips represented Nerd Nite Orlando and journeyed to Washington DC to give a presentation entitled “Robot Intimacy: The Inevitable Leap to Love and Sex With Robots”
Elizabeth “Beth” Phillips is a doctoral candidate in the Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology PhD program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. She is currently working on her dissertation in human-robot interaction, and her research focuses on enabling effective teamwork between humans and robots of the future. She has an interest in how robots and other technologies are changing the way we interact with the world and one another.
Watch the complete video of her presentation below.
Beth Phillips speaks at the Future is Here Festival, May 2015
Click here to watch the video of her presentation: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/future-is-here/future-is-here-festival-2015-beth-phillips/
For the past 2 and a half years, Nerd Nite has received overwhelming love and support from the Central Florida community. Every single mention in the media, whether big or small is incredibly humbling and I am truly honored for our most recent inclusion in the Orlando Weekly, not just because it is an article that made the cover but primarily because it is on a list with so many top-notch events and programs that are building the social architecture of Central Florida. I am happy to say that I’ve worked with and/or participated with all of them.
-Ricardo Williams
Nerd Nite Orlando
Click here to read the full article online: http://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/how-gatherings-of-orlandoans-are-forging-connections-in-real-life-on-meetupcom/Content?oid=2415245
[Below] Links to the other meetups mentioned in the Orlando Weekly cover story.
the Dinner Party Project: http://www.thedinnerpartyproject.co/
Orlando Tech Meetup: http://orlandotech.org/meetup/
Body//Talk: http://www.bodytalkparty.org/
The Hive, by IDEAS For Us: http://www.ideasforus.org/
Orlando Conductor Crawl: https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoConductorCrawl
Orlando Bike Tours: http://orlandobiketours.org/
PechaKucha Orlando: http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/orlando
We all know that learning is more fun when you’re drinking with friends and colleagues. Thus, Nerd Nite is a monthly event held in nearly 100 cities across the globe during which several folks give 18-21-minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines – while the audience drinks along. Imagine learning about everything from math feuds or the science of the Simpsons, to the genealogy of Godzilla or debunking beer myths, while having a few or a few too many.
The Nerd Nite Podcast on CBS’ new Play It network brings the live experience of our in-person events for your aural pleasure, so feel free to have a drink or two while listening – just as long as you aren’t driving and are of age!
Every episode features a new guest from a different Nerd Nite city around the world. The most recent episode, based on a presentation at Nerd Nite Orlando called “Roses are Red, Orange Lilies Mean I Hate You: Exploring the Symbology of Flowers” features Emily Dovydaitis. She is a tree-hugging enthusiast, as well as an undergraduate in Biology and Cultural Anthropology at UCF. She fancies ethnobotany. Her dream is to one day travel to the Amazon to study native, plant-derived medicines. When she’s not drowning in organic chemistry, Emily enjoys rattling off plant binomials and drinking tea. She also secretly envies the fact that plants make their own food, which means they don’t need to clean dishes.
Presentation description:
Although most flowers lack tu-lips, they often “say” more than most people realize. During the Victorian era, the clandestine language of flowers provided a way for society to communicate emotions in a more respectable manner. Lovers, charmers and boothangs alike should ask themselves one simple question before this Valentine’s Day: what sort of message are you actually sending with that bouquet?
Listen here and learn about the symbology of flowers: http://www1.play.it/audio/nerd-nite/
NERDY SPEED DATING IS A SPECIAL EVENT THAT IS HOSTED BY NERD NITE ORLANDO EVERY THIRD SATURDAY
Nerd Nite cities from across the world have hosted Nerdy Speed Dating for a decade. The event has boasted many successful matchmaking and fostered a long list of committed relationships, engagements, and marriages (and even a few wee ones)… and worse case scenario, you make a friend to join you for a future Nerd Nite event.
Each date will be 3-minutes long with one person; and everyone will have the opportunity for multiple dates with different people. (Never the same person)
NERDY SPEED DATING IS FOR ALL NERDS. WE ARE LGBT-FRIENDLY
Click here to reserve your spot for Saturday, August 15th: http://www.ticketbase.com/events/nerdy-speed-dating-v4
When: Saturday, August 15th at 6:30pm
Where: The Geek Easy (inside “A Comic Shop”)
114 S Semoran Blvd Suite 6, Winter Park, Florida 32792
Join us for the second edition of Town Hall on Monday, August 3, 2015 at 7:30pm at Catalyst Spaces in Downtown Orlando (1 S Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801)
Nerd Nite Orlando exists to show the surrounding community that learning is fun, particularly when you’re drinking among friends and like-minded people.
Town Hall is a new meetup from Nerd Nite Orlando where nerds can hangout and have more of an intimate discussion; as well as present ideas, voice their opinions, and ask questions of the the Nerd Nite team.
Discussion Agenda
* Upcoming programming from Nerd Nite
-Gaming & Space Nite
-Maker Faire
-Ladies Nite… PART II
-Movie Screenings
* Other applications via Nerd Nite
-Speed Dating app
-Connecting to other Nerd Nite cities
* What kind of topics should be presented at future Nerd Nites
* Pick a Nerd Nite talk to watch from another city.
RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/402949476564108/
Click here for photographs of the previous Town Hall.
For more information, contact Ricardo at
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- I am Nerd Nite’s biggest fan. If I wasn’t the host, I’d still be in-attendance at every single event. Check out some photos below of Nerd Nite at Comic Con 2015. This is the second year we’ve put on this event and I’m hoping for many more! Special thank you to the presenters Trevor, Joan & Rich, and Allis. And an extra special thank you to National Graphic Channel for making this all possible.
-Ricardo Williams
Nerd Nite Orlando
National Geographic Channels/Marissa Carter
National Geographic Channels/Marissa Carter
National Geographic Channels/Marissa Carter
National Geographic Channels/Marissa Carter
National Geographic Channels/Marissa Carter
Click here for more photographs of Nerd Nite at Comic Con: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.687828901322531.1073741860.350851321686959&type=3
When I first joined the ranks of Nerd Nite bosses in 2013, I hit the ground running. One of the first ideas I had was to have an evening where we bring together some brilliant women from around town and celebrate their knowledge, experience and achievements in one evening. 2 years later, I finally was able to make it a reality and I couldn’t be happier with the success of the first “Nerd Nite Ladies Nite.”
Special shout out to Tairi Perez, Kelly Romano, and Emily Dovydaitis for giving incredibly charming presentations. (It should also be noted that Tairi has now become the first woman in the 11 year history of Nerd Nite around the world to give a presentation while pregnant.)
I was also able to highlight my friend Lauren Gibaldi who got her first book published by Harper Collins. Click here to check it out: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062302229/the-night-we-said-yes
-Ricardo Williams
Nerd Nite Orlando
Click here to view many more photographs from Ladies Nite: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.687481361357285.1073741859.350851321686959&type=3
Join us for our 30th consecutive Nerd Nite in Orlando. We will be hosting a special gaming and space themed event at the Orlando Science Center to get you excited for the upcoming Indie Galactic Space Jam.
Nerd Nite Orlando is an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking talks across many disciplines – all while the audience drinks along in a casual bar atmosphere. Speakers present for 15-20 minutes each on a fascinating subject of their choice, often in an uncanny and unconventional way. Following each presentation is a brief Q&A with the audience.
Come meet up, drink, and learn something new!
EVENT INFO:
When: Thursday, August 13th, 7:00pm
Where: Orlando Science Center
777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803
PRESENTATIONS:
“My-Oh-Maya: The Astronomy of the Yucatan” by Michael McConville
Description: The Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula were one of the most advanced civilizations in the world during their heyday more than a thousand years ago. Although best known for their impressive calendar system – and an apocalypse that never happened – the astronomy of the Maya was amazing in both its scope and detail. We’ll walk through history and travel through the Universe to examine a view of the cosmos centuries ahead of its time.
Speaker Bio: Michael McConville has been bridging the gap between the humanities and the sciences for most of his career. Deeply passionate about teaching, Michael has woven together the stories of history and the Universe for more than a decade. He serves as both the planetarium coordinator at Seminole State College and a professor of history at the University of Central Florida, and these two very different responsibilities have resulted in unique perspectives in both the dome and the classroom. He is also a long-suffering fan of the New York Mets, and will remain so until at least the next Mayan apocalypse.
——-
“Resource Reutilization: “The Martian” in not all fiction…Let me tell you about NASA In-Situ Resource Utilization and how that’s my job!” by Anne Caraccio
Description: Discussion about one of two awesome technologies NASA is developing:
Tech 1. Conversion of the Mars atmosphere into fuel and water!
Speaker Bio: Anne Caraccio, “Annie” is from New York and joined NASA as a student in 2011. She supports NASA as a chemical engineer on several projects that support deep space exploration and resource reutilization for human spaceflight. Her main projects involve developing a system for recovering logistical waste from long duration space missions to produce usable gases for propulsion, environmental control, and life support systems as well as a system for converting the Martian atmosphere into fuel and water. As a crew member of the 2014 HI-SEAS Mars analog simulation, she took part in a 120 day psychological study and performed various research projects while living in an isolated Mars-like habitat with an international crew. She is a graduate of the 2012 NASA FIRST leadership development program and also a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Florida.
Ms. Caraccio is passionate about human space flight and developing systems for future deep space exploration. She carries her passion of the space program out into the world by volunteering with numerous educational outreach events. If she can convince one student, child, parent, skeptic, etc. to appreciate science or develop curiosity and appreciation of this universe, she feels a huge accomplishment has been made!
——-
“Lessons Learned From a Year of Jamming” by Adriel Wallick
Description: This talk will explore the lessons learned from an entire year of continuous weekly game jams. Adriel will discuss methods of rapid brainstorming and prototyping as well as cover common mistakes made when first participating in a game jam.
Speaker Bio: Adriel Wallick is an independent game developer most recently based out of The Netherlands. Originally a programmer on the next generation of weather satellites, she decided to explore gaming as a developer instead of just an avid gamer. She is best known for having made a game a week for an entire year as well as organizing the annual Train Jam game jam.
——-
“Look, No Hands! Gaming with and for the Brain” by Max Jackson
Description: The game controller of the future won’t be one that you hold – not with your hands, anyway. It’ll be one that senses the states of your brain and turns that information into commands for a machine and shapes the gaming experience, and maybe directly stimulates your brain in return. This talk will explore some of the many possibilities for brain tech and gaming, exploring the relationship between art, technology, and our fundamental humanity.
Speaker Bio: Max Jackson is a graduate student at UCF, working at the Hickman ‘Body-on-a-Chip’ lab where he develops software to automate the production, collection, and analysis of electrophysiological signals. He is a co-founder of Cortex, a company that works to develop neurotechnology which empowers makers, artists, the medical community, and everyday people alike.
——-
RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/945150705527847/
———–
If you have any questions about Nerd Nite Orlando or are interested in being a future presenter, email Ricardo [at]
Subscribe to the Nerd Nite Orlando newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bjkLxn
Click below for photographs of the previous Nerd Nite.
I’m happy to announce that Nerd Nite will be returning to Comic Con International in San Diego, California for the second year in a row thanks to a great partnership with National Geographic. I’ll be hosting the free event, which will feature three presentations and trivia. And of course, it wouldn’t be Nerd Nite without drinks!
-Ricardo Williams
Nerd Nite Orlando
——–
RSVP here
Where: Silo in Makers Quarter at 753 15th Street, San Diego, California
When: Friday, July 10, 2015 from 7-10:30pm
*Presentation #1
The Science of Jurassic World
by paleontologist Trevor Valle
*Presentation #2
Shop Class 2.0
by Joan Horvath & Rich ‘Whosawhatsis’ Cameron, Co-Founders of Maker Technology Consultancy Nonscriptum LLC
*Presentation #3
Dead Life: Making a Living Taxidermy
by award-wining taxidermist Alllis Markham
