Nerd Nite SF #50: Emerging Pathogens, Wireless Disaster Response, and Paleo Art!

A microbiologist, a wireless communications specialist, and a paleo-artist walk into a bar…THIS IS NOT A JOKE! This is what's going to happen on the third Wednesday of July and it's going to be awesome! So get your anti-heebie-jeebie meds ready and your smartphone charged–we're going to talk emerging pathogens and wireless disaster response and making monsters, with music, chili, and copious amounts of alcohol to help steady the nerves. Be there and be square!

"Out of Sight: Emerging Pathogens in a Changing World" by Dr. Shannon Bennett

Join us on a morbid journey of discovery to find out where the microbes that make us sick come from and how they got here. From the tropics to your own backyard, encounters with infectious diseases abound, challenging our immune systems and indeed our very existence. Be prepared to ponder viruses with terrifying names like break-bone fever! Be a responsible host: Leave no trace.

Shannon heads the Microbiology Department at the California Academy of Sciences, where she applies advances in genomics and bioinformatics to study dengue, hantavirus, influenza, and bacteria found in mosquito vectors. She is particularly interested in mutations that give viruses the ability to cause epidemics or switch to new hosts.

-------

"Broadband Deliverance: How Wireless is Changing the Face of Disaster Response" by Aaron Mason

Natural disasters scramble everything: They flatten buildings, wash away neighborhoods, and leave communities reeling. But what happens next? We'll take a look at the aftermath of a disaster and dig into some of the new wireless technologies that are changing the face of response–from long-range WiFi to inflatable satellite dishes, to the surge in community-based response.

Aaron deploys things that help people communicate. He spent over a year in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and has deployed wireless networks around the world with Inveneo. Today he's part of the team at OnBeep and serves an advisor to the SF Mayor's office on communications strategy.

-------

Title TBA by Brian Engh

Brian is an artist, musician, and monsterologist who creates artistic renderings of dinosaurs based on fossil evidence. By taking bone fragments, referencing them with other fossil bones, and further fleshing it out with references to modern living organisms, Brian brings dinosaurs to life. He also uses a similar process to design and build monster puppets and costumes that closely mimic biological structures. You can see Brian's work at http://dontmesswithdinosaurs.com/